■^mm^ 


^ 


LIBRARY 

OP  THE 

Theological   Seminary, 

.  PRINCETON,    N.  J. 

Snelf,  /cXZ)^ Section 

Book, No..., 1.... 


^^^ 


^ 


LECTURES 

ON 

THE  CATECHISM 


ON  CONFIRMATION,  AND  THE  LITURGY  OF  THE  PRO- 
TESTANT EPISCOPAL  church;  delivered  TO  THE 
STUDENTS  OF  THAT  DENOMINATION  IN  THE  PHILA- 
DELPHIA   ACADEMY: 

TO     WHICH    IS    PREFIXED 

THE  CATECHISM  OF  SAID  CHURCH, 

AN  APPENDIX,  AND  OCCASIONAL  PRAYERS,  PETITIONS, 
EJACULATIONS,  AND  HYMNS;  WITH  AN  ADDRESS  TO 
PARENTS,  SPONSORS,  AND  GUARDIANS. 

PUBLISHED      FOR     THE     USE     OF     THAT     INSTITUTION,     AND      OF 
FAMILIES  BELONGING  TO  THE  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 


BY  JAMES  ABERCROMBIE,  D.  I). 

one  of  the    assistant  ministers    of   christ  church,    st 
Peter's,  and  st.  james's. 

AND  DIRECTOR  OF   THE  ACADEMY. 

SECOND    EDITION,    CONSIDERABLY    ENLARGED. 

"  Train  up  a  child  in  the  way  he  should   g-o,   and  when  he  is  old  he  will 
not  depart  from  it."  Solomw. 


PHILAHELPHIA. 

PUBLISHED    BY   BRADFORD    AND    INSKEEP, 
NO.    4,    SOUTH    THIRD    STREET. 
1811. 


DISTRICT  OF  PENNSYLVANIA,  to  wit: 

Be  it  rememberedy  That  on  the  twenty-first  day  of  May,  in 
^/^^^^^7i^  the  thirty-fifth  year  of  the  independence  of  the  United  States  of 
S  SEAL.  S  America,  A.  D.  1811,  i?7'flt//br  J  c;? /7is^'eep  of  the  said  district, 
^  .^  have  deposited  in  this  office  the  title  of  a  book,  the  right  whereof 

*  they  claim  ^s  proprietors,  in  the  words  following-,  to  wit: 
Lectures  on  the  Catechism,  on  Confirmation,  and  the  Liturgy  of  the  Pro- 
testant Episcopal  Church;  dehvered  to  the  students  of  that  denomination  in  the 
Philadelphia  Academy.  To  which  is  prefixed  the  Cateciiism  of  said  Chuixh, 
an  Appendix  and  occasional  Prayers,  Petitions,  Ejaculations,  and  Hymns;  with 
an  Address  to  Parents,  Sponsors,  and  Guardians.  Published  for  the  use  of 
that  Institution,  and  of  families  belonging  to  the  Episcopal  Church.  By  James 
Abercrombie,  D.D.  one  of  the  assistant  ministers  of  Christ  Church,  St.  Peter's 
and  St.  James's,  and  Director  of  the  Academy.  Second  edition,  considerably 
enlarged. 

"  Train  up  a  child  in  the  way  he  should  go,  and  when  he  is  old  he  will  not  depai-t  from  it.'* 

Solomon. 
In  conformity  to  the  act  of  the  congress  of  the  United  States,  intituled,  "  an 
act  for  the  encouragement  of  learning,  by  securing  the  copies  of  maps,  charts, 
and  books,  to  the  authors  and  proprietors  of  sucii  copies  during  the  times 
therein  mentioned." — And  also  to  the  act,  entitled,  "  an  act  supplementary  to 
an  act,  entitled  "  an  act  for  the  encouragement  of  learning,  by  securing  the 
copies  of  maps,  charts,  and  books,  to  the  authors  and  proprietors  of  such  co- 
pies during  the  times  therein  mentioned,"  and  extending  the  benefits  thereof 
to  the  arts  of  designing,  engraving,  and  etching  historical  and  other  prints." 

D.  CALDWELL, 
Clerk  of  the  District  of  Pennsylvania^ 


TO 


THE  RIGHT  REV.  WILLIAM  WHITE,  D.  D. 

SISHOF    OF   THE    PROTESTANT    EPISCOPAI.    CHURCH    IS 
THE    STATE    OF   PENNSYLVANIA. 


|RiGHT  Reverend  ani>  dear  Sir, 

My  uniform  experience  of  your  benevolence  encoura- 
ges im  to  trust,  that  you  will  pardon  the  liberty  I  now 
take  of  inscribing  the  following  familiar  exposition  of 
^  f>^  Catechism  to  you.  The  offering  is  small;  but  I  am 
induced  to  present  it— from  a  sense  of  propriety  in  address- 
ingf  as  one  of  your  assistant  ministers,  any  Theological 
Publication^  to  the  Head  of  our  Church-^-from  a  con- 
viction  that  the  weight  and  influence  of  your  name,  even 
in  an  Epistle  Dedicatory,  will  excite  attention,  and  give 
efficacy  to  the  sentiments  contained  in  the  subsequent  pa- 
ges— and,  from  the  opportunity  which  it  affords  me,  of 
thus  publicly  expressing  my  profound  veneration  for 


vi  DEDICATION. 

your  charactei*^  my  respect  for  your  extensive  etnidition, 
and  my  esteem  for  that  brilliant  assemblage  of  virtues 
which  m  YOU  so  conspicuously  adoim  and  dignify  your 
fii  linguished  and  elevated  station. 

With  the  most  ardent  gratitude  aiid  unfeigned  affection, 

I  am, 

Bight  Reverend  and  dear  Sir, 

Your  sincere  Friend, 

And  very  humble  Servant, 

JAMES  ABERCROMBIE. 

Vhilad.  Feb.  13, 1811. 


AD\  ERTISE^IKNT  FOR  THIS  EDITION 


The  very  favourable  reception  which  has  been 
given  by  all  the  States  to  the  first  edition  of  this  book, 
having  exhausted  the  impression,  and  a  second 
being  called  for,  I  have  endeavoured  to  render  it 
worthy  of  attention,  by  some  additional  questions  and 
answers  in  the  Appendix  to  the  Catechism,  and  a  con- 
siderable enlargement  of  some  of  the  Lectures,  and  of 
the  Address  to  Parents,  Sponsors  and  Guardians.  I 
trust  I  have  added  thereby  to  its  usefulness,  though  the 
restriction  imposed  on  me  by  the  nature  of  the  work, 
which  necessarily  prescribes  the  observance  of  as 
much  brevity  as  possible  in  its  various  departments, 
prevented  that  amplitude  of  discussion  which  would 
otherwise  have  been-  proper. 

Fehfuary  13,  1811.  J.  A. 


PREFACE, 


The  following  Lectures  were  written  for  the 
purpose  of  explaining,  and  impressing  upon  the 
youthful  mind,  the  elementary  principles  of  the 
Christian  Religion,  as  taught  by  our  Church; 
though,  at  the  same  time,  without  inculcating  its  pe- 
culiar tenets  in  any  way  which  could  influence  or 
give  offence  to  the  mind  of  a  youth  belonging  to  any 
other  religious  society. 

The  infinite  value  of  Revealed  Religion,  to  cor- 
rect and  restrain  the  turbulence  of  our  depraved  pas- 
sions; to  form  the  human  character  to  habits  of  vir- 
tuous exertion;  to  purify,  to  elevate,  and  sublime  the 
human  heai't,  by  awakening  the  fervour  of  true 
devotion;  and  by  thus  leading  man  to  a  constant 
intercourse  with  his  God,  and  preparing  his  soul  for 
the  enjoyment  of  a  superior  state  of  existence,  is  so 
evident,  that  the  propriety  of  instilling  its  important 
doctrines  into  the  human  mind  in  early  life^  cannot 
be  questioned. 


viii  PREFACE. 

Under  this  conviction,  the  author  considered  k 
his  duty,  as  Director  of  the  Ph  i  l  a  d  e  l  p  h  i  a  Ac  a  d  e  - 
MY,  to  blend  religious  instruction  with  classical;  and 
to  endeavour  to  bring  up  his  pupils  "in  the  nurture 
and  admonition  of  the  Lord,""^  as  well  as  to  teach 
them  those  elements  of  science  and  polite  literature, 
which  would  enable  them  to  become  useful  and  orna- 
inental  members  of  society.     He,  therefore,  has  uni- 
&ycmly  called  wpon  them  to  recite,  every  Saturda}, 
according  to  their  respective  denominations,  the  Ca- 
techism of  tliat  association  of  Christians  to  which  they 
i^elonged;  after  which,  they  are  all  assembled  together, 
and  a  short  lecture,  or  explanatory  address,  upon 
some  of  the  leading  and  general  principles  of  Chris- 
tianity, delivei'edto  them.     In  the  course  of  this  in- 
structic4i  he  thought  it  proper  occasionally  to  offer 
to  tiie  youths  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  a  concise  and 
plain  exposition  of  t/iei?'  formulary  of  religious  in- 
struction; and  the  more  so,  as  he  is  himself  a  Minis- 
ter of  that  Church,  and  a  great  majority  of  his  pupils 
Episcopalians:   In  doing  this,  he  endeavoured  to  ad- 
here, as  much  as  possible,  to  the  generally  received 
iinictcs  of  failli;   and  to  express  the  sentiments  in 
laj^uagc   perspicuous,  unomamented,  and   accom- 
modated to  the  capacities  of  those  to  wliom  it  was 

*    Kr)J^.  vi.  4. 


PREFACE,  ix 

addressed.     So  that  the  Author  can  have  no  motive 
for  now  committing  it  to  the  press,  but  the  desire  of 
disseminating  the  great  Truths  of  our  Holy  Religion, 
and  imbuing  the  minds  of  the  youths   committed  to 
his  care  with  those  salutary  and  blessed  principles 
which  are  able  to  make  them  ^*  wise  unto  salvation."* 
The  Lectures  are  necessarily  short,  that  the  at- 
tention of  his  young  hearers  might  not  be  fatigued  by 
prolixity,  or  enfeebled  by  exertion;  but  that  brevity 
might  induce  them  to  listen   with  composure  and 
earnestness,  as  well  as  enable  them  more  easily  to  re- 
member the  doctrines  and  precepts  delivered;  and,  in 
general,  they  are  concluded  with  some  appropriate 
Collect  of  our  Church.     The  Scriptural  authorities 
upon  which  the  doctrines  are  founded,  are  given  at 
the  bottom  of  the  page;  and  it  is  earnestly  recom- 
mended to  those  young  persons  who  read  the  Lec- 
tures, to  refer  immediately  to  them,  not  only  to    be 
convinced  that  my  assertions  are  supported  by  the 
highest  possible  proofs,  but  to  confirm  thereby  their 
faith  in  our  Holy  religion  and  its  doctrines,  as  held 
by  our  Church;  and  that  they  may  see  how  ample 
and  explicit  the  Sacred  Oracles  are  in  the  declaration 
of  all  those  truths,  our  faith  in  which  is  necessary  to 
our  salvation. 

*2  Tim.  iii.  15. 
B 


X  PREFACE. 

By  the  frequent  recurrence  of  reflections  on  the 
value  of  time,  arising  from  the  uncertainty  of  human 
life,  the  responsibility  of  man,  and  the  rapid  approach 
of  Death,  Judgment,  and  Eternity,  it  is  hoped  that 
the  importance  of  those  awful  realities  will  be  there- 
by more  forcibly  and  indelibly  impressed  upon  the 
youthful  mind. 

In  the  course  of  these  Lectures  die  Author  hath 
sometimes  availed  himself  of  the  language  of  former 
commentators  on  the  Catechism,  in  order  to  render 
his  addresses  more  impressive  and  efficacious.     And 
he  is  aware  that  it  may  be  asked, "  why  could  not 
some  one  of  the  many  expositions  of  our  Catechism 
which  are  extant  have  been  adopted!"  His  answer  is, 
because  all  which  he  has  yet  seen,  have  been  either 
too  elaborate  in  their  explanations,  or  too  minute 
and  dilFuse,  and  sometimes  too  metaphysical  upon 
doctrinal  points;  thereby  extending  the  exposition  so 
far  as  to  render  it  too  large  to   attract  and  engage  the 
attention  of  a  youthful  mind;  and  better  calculated 
for  tlie  closet  of  tlie  student,  than  the  hand  and  head  of 
the  schoolboy.     The  Author  of  these  Lectures  has 
endeavoured  to  obviate  this  objection,  by  condensing 
instruction  and  exhortation  upon  the  most  essential 
principles  of  our  Religion,  into  very  brief  and  familiar 
addresses*    How  t^r  he  has  succeeded  in  the  attempt, 


PREFACE.  xi 

the  public  must  now  decide.  He  commits  them  to 
his  pupils  and  to  their  parents,  hoping  that  by  the  fre- 
quent perusal  of  them,  the  former  may  be  led  to  the 
knowledge,  admiration,  and  love  of  divine  truth,  and 
eventually  conducted  thereby  into  the  Kingdom  of 
Heaven. 


AN  ADDEESS 


PARENTS,  SPONSORS,  AND  GUARDIANS. 


Professing  Christians, 

The  general  and  truly  lamentable  inattention  of 
parents,  with  respect  to  the  instruction  of  their  chil- 
dren in  religious  knowledge,  induces  the  present  pub- 
lication. 

It  is  indeed,  a  subject  of  very  alarming  and  dis- 
tressing observation  to  every   serious,   every  real 
Christian,  that  the  rising  generation  are  so  cruelly, 
so  criminally  neglected  at  home,  as  to  their  spiritual 
and  eternal  interests;  and  that  in  so  high  a  degree, 
that  it  requires  not  the  spirit  of  prophecy  to  foretel, 
that  unless  an  immediate  reformation  of  conduct  to- 
wai'dsthem  take  place,  they  will  be  a  generation  of 
Infidels.     This  assertion  is  founded  not  merely, 
upon  vague  supposition,  or  groundless  apprehension, 
but  upon  the  irresistible  conviction  resulting  from  ex- 
perience. 


x'lv  AN  ADDllESS,  kc. 

Since  the  first  establishment  of  the  Institution 
over  which  I  still  preside,  a  period  of  eleven  years  has 
elapsed:  during  which  I  have  been  in  the  practice  of 
examining  my  pupils  once  every  week  in  the  Cate- 
chism of  that  denomination  of  Christians  to  which 
they  respectively  belonged.  The  majority  have  al- 
ways been  Episcopalians;  yet  of  them  I  have  never 
found,  of  the  aggregate  number,  five,  who,  at  their  en- 
trance into  the  Academy,  could  answer  any  five  ques- 
tions in  the  Catechism,  or  who  had  received  any  reli- 
gious instruction,  but  that  which  they  had  occasion- 
ally heard  in  the  Church. 

Dreadful,  cruel  inattention!  That  in  a  Christian 
country,  children,  many  of  them  youths  of  fifteen 
years,  the  offspring  of  parents  callin.sj  themselves 
Christians,  should,  at  that  age,  be  as  ignorant  of  the 
principles  of  the  Christian  religion,  as  the  savage  that 
roams  the  wilderness! 

O,  PcU-ents,  Sponsors,  Guardians!  Aw^ke  fi-om 
your  spiritual  lethargy!  Rouse  yourselves  from  your 
infatuated  devotion  to  worldly  objects;  your  criminal, 
fatal  indifference  to  the  spiritual  and  eternal  Avelfarc  of 
those  whom  Providence  hath  placed  immediately  un- 
der your  authority  and  direction.  Blush  at  your  de- 
ficiency-*-and  tremble  at  the  consideration'of  the  una- 
voidable, the  awful  cpnsequenccs  which  must  result 


AN  ADDRESS,  See.  xv 

both  to  you  and  to  them  therefrom.  Can  such  mat- 
tention  be  reconciled  with  rec/ affection,  do^d  a  sincere 
regard  for  cither  their  temporal  or  eternal  interest?  Re- 
member, that  their  souls  are  in  j/our  hands — and  that 
their  souls  are  immortal, — Return  not  the  talent  un- 
improved to  God  who  gave  it  to  you. 


«  Be  wise,  nor  make 


Heaven's  highest  blessing  vengeance— O!  be  wise, 

Nor  make  a  curse  of  immortality. 

Say,  know  ye  what  it  is?-^or  what  ye  are? 

Know  ye  th*  imfiortance  of  a  soul  immortal? 

Behold  the  midnight  glory;  worlds  on  worlds! 

Amazing  pomp! — Redouble  this  amaze; 

Ten  thousand  add,  and  twice  ten  thousand  more, 

Then  weigh  the  whole.-— Owe  soul  outweighs  them  all; 

And  calls  th*  astonishing  magnificence 

Of  unintelligent  Creation,  poor." 

YouNG*s  Night  Thoughts,  N.  7. 

Consider  the  high  degree  of  responsibility  at- 
tached to  your  characters-— consider  the  powerful 
operation  of  habit — the  important  influence  of  early 
impressions  upon  the  human  mind—- the  commanding 
authority  of  example,  and  consequently,  awful  reflec- 
tion! that  the  eternal  salvation,  or  the  perdition  of  the 
childreti  entrusted  to  your  guidance  may,  and  proba- 
bly will,  depend  upon  the  principles  and  opinions  they 
imbibe  in  their  youthful  years:  from  you  they  w*ill 
naturally  adopt  the  opinions  and  practices  which  they 


xvi  AN  ADDRESS)  8^c. 

observe  in  you,  and  if  those  are  inconsistent  with  the 
principles  you  inculcate,  and  the  precepts  you  enjoin 
upon  them,  your  advice,  your  injunctions,  be  assured, 
will  prove  nugatory  and  unavailing:  for  how  can  a  pa- 
rent with  any  hope  of  success  require  his  children  to 
attend  regularly  upon  the  public  worship  of  God,  or 
inculcate  it  as  a  duty,  if  by  his  example  he  encourage 
them  not  to  do  so?  how  can  a  parent  reprove  a  child  for 
taking  the  name  of  God  in  vain,  if  he  accustom  him- 
self to  profane  swearing?  how  can  a  parent  verbally 
recommend  to  his  children  prayer,  the  study  of  the 
Holy  Scriptures,  or  the  partaking  of  that  spiritual 
food  and  sustenance  which  is  offered  for  our  growth 
in  grace  in  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  if  he 
encourage  them  to  abstain  from  all  by  his  powerful 
and  fatal  example?  for 

"  As  the  twig  is  bent,  the  tree's  inclined." 

Teach  them,  therefore,  in  the  very  dawn  of  their 
existence,  to  fear  God,  and  to  keep  his  command- 
ments— to  love  him  as  the  giver  of  life,  and  of  every 
good  gift  to  man — Teach  them  to  consider  Religi- 
on  as  "  the  one  thing  needful,"^  "  the  pearl  of  great 
price:"!  the  cultivation  of  its  principles,  the  perform- 
ance of  its  duties,  instead  of  checking,  will  heighten 
their  enjoyment  of  the  comforts,  the  pleasures,  the 

*  Luke.  X.  42.  f  Mat.  xiii.  46. 


AN  ADDRESS^  &c.  xvu 

gaycties  of  social  life,  which  ai'c  suited  ta  their  age^ 
and  which  under  such  guidance  they  may  with  safe- 
ty, with  innocence,  with  propriety,  partake  of— for, 
true  Religion  is  not  the  parent  of  gloom,  but  of  cheer- 
fulness ^nd  joy.  Tell  them  that  they  are  rational  be- 
ings, and  consequently  accountable  for  their  thoughts, 
words,  and  actions.  Tell  them  that  they  are 
immortal  beings,  that  this  world  is  a  state  of  pro- 
bation, and  that  their  happiness  or  misery  in  the  next 
state  of  existence  will  depend  upon  the  desires  of  the 
heart  here,  and  "  the  deeds  done  in  the  body."*  Per- 
suade and  enjoin  them  to  read  the  Holy  Scriptures 
*'  which  are  able  to  make  them  wise  unto  salvation.*'^ 
Make  them  acquainted  with  the  principles,  the  pre- 
cepts, the  doctrines  of  our  Holy  Religion,  as  well  by 
your  own  instruction,  as  by  putting  into  their 
hands  proper  books  on  that  all  important  subject. 
Teach  them  religiously  to  observe  the  Lord's  day,  to 
"  call  the  Sabbath  a  delight,  the  holy  of  the  Lord"J — 
and  on  that  sacred  day  to  worship  him  "  with  an  holy 
worship  II'' — to  "  enter  into  his  gates  with  thanksgiv- 
ing, and  into  his  courts  with  prayer  and  praise  "^-and, 
O!  neglect  not  to  encourage  them  to  pray,  by  accustom- 
ing them  to  Family  Prayer — remember,  with  re- 
spect to  this  essential  duty,  the  examples  of  Abraham, 

*  Rom.  ii.  6.  f  2.    Tim  iii.   15.  X  Isaiah   Iviii.    13. 

II  Ps.  ex.  3.  ^  Ps.  c.  4= 


xviii  AN  ADDRESS,  £cc. 

of  Joshua,  of  David,  of  Job,  of  Daniel,  of  Cornelius, 
and  of  many  other  scriptural  characters!  and  that  it  is 
a  duty  which  no  truly  christian  head  of  a  family  can 
neglect  with  impunity;  for  it  is  a  mode  of  worship 
calculated  in  a  peculiar  manner,  to  induce  the  favour 
and  blessing  of  Almighty  God;  to  promote  harmony, 
affection,  and  benevolence  in  your  domestic  relations; 
and  peculiarly  to  impress  your  children  with  a  sense 
of  religious  obligation,  of  the  omniscience,  the  om- 
nipresence and  omnipotence  of  God.  Pray  with 
them  as  well  ^sjbr  them.  Lead  them  in  the  way  to 
Heaven.  Instruct  them  by  your  precepts,  and  per- 
suade, support,  and  animate  them  by  your  example. 
Endeavour  to  convince  them — of  the  value  of  Time, 
of  its  rapid  and  irrevocable  flight,  and  the  inconceiv- 
able reward  or  punishment  which  will  hereafter  await 
the  improvement  or  neglect  of  so  invaluable  a  talent— 
That  their  future  respectability  or  insignificance  in 
society,  the  comfort  or  misery  of  their  parents,  the 
soothing  approbation  or  the  bitter  reproaches  of  their 
own  consciences,  and  the  nature  of  their  condition  in 
the  world  of  spirits,  will  probably  be  derived  from 
the  principles  they  form,  and  the  habits  they  acquire, 
at  the  commencement  of  the  journey  of  human  life — 
That  a  compliance  with  the  duties  and  claims  of  Re- 
ligion, is  in  no  degree  incompatible  with  the  enjoy- 


AN*  ADDRESS,  &c.  xix 

ment  of  the  innocent  amusements  and  virtuous  plea- 
sures of  social  life,  but  on  the  contrary  will  increase 
and  refine  that  enjoyment — That  the  native  dignity 
of  Virtue,  and  the  commanding  authority  of  true 
Piety,  will  ever  procure  the  veneration,  esteem,  and 
affection  of  the  wise  and  good;  and  as  invariably  re- 
press the  insolence  of  folly,  and  repel  the  disgusting 
ebullitions  of  vulgarity  and  vice. 

By  frequently  offering  such  suggestions  as  these,, 
you  will  familiarize  their  minds  to  the  contempla- 
tion of  divine  truth,  and  induce  the  performance  of 
their  religious  obligations. 

Thus  will  you  discharge  your  duty  to  them, 
to  society,  and  to  God:  and  thus  will  you  render  them 
blessings  to  the  world,  and  heirs  of  eternal  felicity 
and  glory. 

One  of  the  leading  causes  of  the  deplorable  de- 
ficiency of  religious  character  in  our  youth  is,  the 
general  neglect  of  the  proper  observance  of  the  Lord's 
Day,  and  their  absence  from  the  publick  worship  of 
God. 

This  disregard  of  so  positive,  so  important  a 
duty  arises, 

First,  from  your  cruel  omission  to  instil  into  their 
minds  proper  sentiments  of  religion,  of  the  comfort 
it  bestows,  of  the  duties  it  enjoins,  and  of  the  inesti- 
mable blessings  which  it  offers. 


XX  AN  ADDRESS,  8<c. 

Secondly,  from  the  baneful  influence  of  your  ir- 
religious example  in  absenting  yourselves  from  his 
sacred  Temple  on  the  day  which  God  hath  hallowed 
to  his  own  peculiar  service. 

No  wonder,  indeed,  that  infidelity  and  profliga- 
cy, a  disregard  of  God  and  an  apparent  contempt 
for  his  public  worship,  prevail,  when  parents  are 
many  of  them  rarely^  some  of  them  never  seen  with- 
in the  walls  of  the  Sanctuary;  when  on  that  sacred  day 
they  are  rioting  in  luxury,  amused  by  dissipation, 
dozing  in  indolence,  or  immersed  in  business;  at- 
tending *'  one  to  his  farm,  another  to  his  merchan- 
dize"^—-who  so  far  from  calling  upon  their  children 
to  accompany  them  to  the  house  of  God,  and  to  unite 
with  them  there  in  prayer  and  praise,  never  either  in 
publick  or  private  pray  yor  them  or  with  them — ^who 
suffer  them^^to  grow  up  "  without  God  in  the  world;"! 
notwithstanding  the  solemn  promises  made  to  God 
at  their  baptism,  that  they  should  be  "  instructed  in 
all  the  principles  of  the  Christian  faith,  and  brought 
up  in  the  fear  of  God,  and  to  obey  his  holy  will  and 
commandments, "f  in  order  to  enable  them  to  resist 
the  allurements  of  an  insnaring  world,  the  wiles  of  their 
great  spiritual  enemy,  and  the  seductions  of  their  de- 
praved inclinations:  for  the  want  of  which  promised 
instruction,    so   nviny  ''  having  no   root    in   them- 

*  Mat.  xxii  5.  t  Eph.ii.  12.        t  See  Catechism, 


AN  ADDRESS,  Sec.  xxi 

selves/'*  are  easily  borne  down  by  the  torrent  of  sen- 
suality; and,  intoxicated  by  the  inebriating  poison  of 
modem  philosophy/'  deny  the  faith  as  it  is  in  Jesus," 
and  thereby 

"Wipe  off  the  blessed  Cross  as  a  foul  blot 

"  From  their  dishonoured  bro\y. 

"  If  Angels  tremblel — 'tis  at  such  a  sight." 

Parents,  Sponsors,  Guardians!  Is  the  Christian 
Religion  a  delusion,  and  the  Word  of  God  a  lie? 
Are  its  promises  and  threatenings  unworthy  of  your 
regard?  Believe  ye  the  divine  authenticity  of:he 
Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  declarations  of  the  Son  of 
God  himself,  of  the  Law,  the  Prophets,  and  the  Gos- 
pel? I  know  that  ye  believe:  Why  then  will  ye  not 
obey?  "  Why  will  ye  die?"t  Wh}^  will  ye  be  acces- 
sory to  the  spiritual  death  of  those  committed  to  your 
care?  Would  to  God  I  could  persuade  you  to  be 
Christians,  in  deed  and  in  truth,  as  well  as  by  profes- 
sion!— That  I  could  awaken  and  direct  your  atten- 
tion to  the  most  important — the  spiritual  interests  of 
your  children! — That  I  could  convince  you  oi  your 
perilous  situation,  and  withdraw  you  from  the  preci- 
pice upon  which  you  are  carelessly  slumbering. 
Remember,  that  however  their  plea  of  involuntary 

*  Mal'kiv.  ir.  t  Ezek.  xviii  31. 


xxii  AN     ADDRESS,  kc. 

ignorance,  while  under  t/our  care,  may,  at  the  inevita- 
ble day  of  judgment,  induce  the  mercy  of  God  to- 
wards them — your  voluntary/  disregard  of  their  im- 
mortal souls  will  assuredly  occasion  your  condem- 
nation^  "  when  the  Lord  Jesus  shall  be  revealed  from 
Heaven  with  his  mighty  Angels,  in  flaming  fire,  tak- 
ing vengeance  on  them  who  know  not  God,  and  who 
obey  not  the  Gospel  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ:  who 
shall  be  punished  with  everlasting  destruction  from 
the  presence  of  the  Lord,  and  from  the  glory  of  his 
power,  when  he  shall  come  to  be  glorified  in  his 
saints,  in  that  day."*  Remember,  O  careless,  world- 
ly-minded Parents!  that  you  comply  with  the  least 
important  part  of  your  duty,  when  you  provide  for 
iht  external  ov  bodily  wants  only  of  your  offspring, 
and  neglect  their  Great  Spiritual  Interests. 
In  such  case,  expect  to  hear  the  agonizing  reproach- 
es of  your  children  in  the  last  great  day  of  account, 
when  they  will  accuse  you  as  the  original  cause  of 
their  condemnation.  You,  will  they  then  say,  were 
indeed  called  our  parents;  but  though  as  such  you 
provided  food  and  nourishment  for  our  bodies,  you 
never  taught  us  to  know  and  to  love  our  great  Spiri- 
tual Parent,  and  by  acquainting  us  with  him,  to 
obtain  nourishment  for  our  souls.  You  indeed  gave 
us  "bread enough  and  tospare"t)y^t  suffered  our  im~ 

*  1  Thess.  vii.  10  tLuke  xv.    IT 


AN   ADDRESS,  kc.  xxiii 

mortal  spirits  to  "perish  with  hunger"^  for  want  of 
"  that /zt;f«^  ^r^aflf  which  came  down  from  Heaven,  "f 
You  provided  us  with  raiment  for  our  bodies,  but 
never  told  us  of  the  necessity  of  arraying  our  souls 
in  that  "robe  of  righteousnss,"}  that "  wedding  gar- 
ment"5  of  salvation,"  that, "  spiritual  armour,"  ||  which 
Christ  hath  provided  inhis  Gospel,  for  those  who  would 
travel  heavenward  through  this  wilderness  of  sin.  You 
indeed  often  washed  us  with  pure  water,  nay,  with 
the  sacred  water  of  Christian  Baptism,  yet  never 
taught  us  to  purify  our  hearts  with  the  cleansing, 
the  regenerating  influence  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  to 
wash  them,  as  it  were,  in  the  blood  of  the  lamb  which 
was  slain  for  the  salvation  of  our  race — You  taught 
and  encouraged  us  to  exert  our  utmost  diligence  to 
procure  and  lay  up  for  ourselves  the  perishable  trea- 
sures of  earth,  but  never  directed  our  attention  and 
zeal  to  the  "  laying  up  for  ourselves  treasures  in  Hea- 
ven,"^! which  endure  forever. You  conducted  us 

to  scenes  of  festivity  and  feasting,  but  never  led  us 
either  by  precept  or  example,  to  that  spiritual,  that 
heavenly  feast,  that  banquet  of  divine  love,  the  Sa- 
crament of  the  Lord's  Supper.  In  short,  through 
the  want  of  early  religious  instructions,  You  suffered 
usto  be  ensnared  by  the  wiles  of  the  Devil,  the  World, 

*   Luke  XV.  17.  f  John  vi.  41.  \   Isa.  Ixi.  10. 

§  Mat.  xxii.  1),  ';  Eph.  vi.  lo.  1:  Mat.  vi.  20, 


xxiv  AN  ADDRESS,  kc. 

and  the  Flesh,  and  are  therefore  the  cause  of  our  ex- 
clusion from  Heaven,  and  of  banishment  from  the 
presence  of  God,  into  the  regions  of  misery  and  des- 
pair. 

Seeing,  brethren,  that  these  things  are  so;  ought 
ye'not  to  fear?-ought  yenot"  to  consider  your  ways?''* 
— ought  ye  not  to  "weep  for  yourselves  and  for  your 
children?  for,  behold  the  days  are  coming,  in  the 
which,"  O  negligent  Parents!  "ye  shall  say,  blessed 
are  the  barren,  and  the  wombs  which  never  bare, 
and  the  paps  which  never  gave  suck.  Then  shall 
you  begin  to  say  to  the  mountains,  Fall  on  us,  and  to 
the  hills.  Cover  us."t 

These  remonstrances,  I  am  sensible,  are  super- 
fluous, and  in  no  degree  applicable  to  some  of  the 
characters  who  may  peruse  them;  the  number,  how- 
ever, oi faithful  stewards,  with  respect  to  the  rising 
generation,  is,  I  fear,  so  very  small,  as  to  render  a 
discriminating  clause  unnecessar}'.  The  assertions 
are  founded  in  truth:  and  the  unerring  voice  of  Con- 
science will  direct  their  j&roj&fT  application. 

Though  many  of  you  may  think  lightly,  or  not 
at  all,  of  the  high  responsibility  of  the  characters  you 
have  assumed  of  Parents,  Sponsors,  or  Guardians, 
(perhaps  of  all  those  accountable  characters  combined) 
I  consider  and  know,  that  attached  to  mine,  as  an  In- 
*  Hag.  i.  7.  t  Luke  Kxiii.  28-— 30. 


AN  ADDRESS,  kc.  xxv 

structorof  youth,  independently  of  my  clerical  charac- 
ter, as  involving  very  mppientous  and  extensive  obli- 
gations; and,  under  the  influence  of  this  conviction,  I 
should  unquestionably  violate  my  duty,  both  to  you 
and  the  juvenile  members  of  our  church,  particularly 
those  intrusted  to  my  tuition,  were  I  to  remain  si- 
lent, or  remonstrate,  on  their  behalf,  in  terms  less  ur- 
gent and  explicit.  The  dreadful  and  alarming  nature 
of  the  evil  I  so  deeply,  so  justly  lament,  requires  im- 
mediate and  serious  attention.  **  I,  therefore,  accor- 
ding  to  mine  office,  implore  you  in  the  name  of  God; 
I  call  upon  you  in  Christ's  behalf;  I  exhort  you,  asyou 
regard  your  owm  salvation,"  and  that  of  the  souls  com- 
mitted to  your  care,  that  you  will  no  longer  direct  your 
assiduity  and  anxiety  altogether  to  the  promotion  of 
their  temporal,  but  extend  and  apply  those  principles 
to  their  infinitely  more  important,  their  spiritual  and 
eternal  interests. 

Let  a  just  sensibility  of  the  brevity  and  uncer- 
tainty of  human  life — of  the  inestimable  talent  commit- 
ted to  your  trust — of  the  awful  and  infinitely  impor- 
tant consequences  which  will  result  to  them  and  to  you 
from  its  proper  improvement  or  neglect — induce  }'ou 
to  use  every  exertion,  that  as  they  grow  in  age  they 
may  **  grow  in  grace,  and  in  the  knowledge  of  our 
Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ."*  Thus,  as  they  "in*- 

*  2.  Pet.   3.  18. 
D 


xxvi  AN-  ADDRESS,  &e. 

crease  in  wisdom  and  stature,  they  will  als©  incrj^asit 
in  favour  with  God  and  man.*" 
Remember; 

"Time  fliesl  Death  urgesl  Knells  calll  Heav'n  invitcsl 
«  Hell  threatensl'* 

and, 

"  What  moment's  granted  man  without  accomit?** 

Young. 

With  sincere  and  ardent  prayers,  that  my  feeble 
exertions  to  promote  the  salvation  of  souls  may  be 
blessed  with  success, 
Ic.m 

your  affectionate  friend  and  servant, 

JAMES  ABERCROMBIE. 


THE  CATECHISM 


OF    THE 


PROTESTANT    EPISCOPAL  CHURCHj 


AN  APPENDIX. 


"  There  is  nothing  of  so  much  worth  as  a  mind  well  in- 
'^  structed." 

Solomon. 

*^  From  a  child  thou  hast  known  the  Holy  Scriptures,  which 
'*  are  able  to  make  thee  wise  unto  salvation." 

St,  Paid  to  Ttmotht.'. 


TO  THE  STUDENTS 


OF 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  ACADEMY, 


Beloved  Youths, 

Convinced  that  religious  principles  are  the  only 
proper  basis  of  correct  and  truly  useful  education;  and 
anxious  to  promote  your  most  important  interests, 
by  impressing  upon  your  minds  the  elements  of  that 
Holy  Religion,  which  alone  is  calculated  to  lead  us  to 
the  possession  of  real  happiness,  both  in  this  state  of 
being,  and  the  next;  I  present  you  with  this  manu-^ 
al:  earnestly  soliciting  your  serious  attention  to  the 
instruction,  and  your  diligent  observance  of  the  pre- 
cepts which  it  contains. 

Though  the  short  Institute  here  offered,  is  that  of 
the  Episcopal  Church,  it  is  by  no  means  intended  to 
prohibit  the  use  of  other  Catechisms  in  the  Academy: 


XXX  DEDICATION. 

on  the  contrary,  every  scholar  will  be  required  to 
make  himself  acquainted  with  the  particular  Form 
of  Religious  instruction,  which  is  prescribed  by 
that  denomination  of  Christians  to  which  he  belongs. 
With  affectionate  concern  for  your  temporal  and 
eternal  welfare, 

I  am  your  sincere  friend, 

JAMES  ABERCROMBIE. 

PhUad.  Feb,\%\\. 


THE  CATECHISM. 


THE   CATECHISM. 


Quesh  What  is  your  name? 

Ansxu.  N.  or  M. 

Quest,  Who  gave  you  this  name? 

Answ,  My  Sponsors  in  Baptism;  wherein  I  was 
made  a  member  of  Christ,  the  child  of  God,  and  an 
inheritor  of  the  kingdom  of  Heaven. 

Quest,  What  did  your  Sponsors  then  for  you? 

Answ.  They  did  promise  and  vow  three  things  in 
my  name:  First,  that  I  should  renounce  the  devil 
and  all  his  works,  the  pomps  and  vanity  of  this  wick- 
ed world,  and  all  the  sinful  lusts  of  the  flesh;  Second- 
ly, that  I  should  believe  all  the  Articles  of  the  Chris- 
tian Faith;  And  thirdly,  that  I  should  keep  God's  ho- 
ly will  and  commandments,  and  walk  in  the  same  all 
the  days  of  my  life. 


34  THE  CATECHISM. 

Qtiest.  Dost  thou  not  think  that  thou  art  bound  to 
believe  >  and  to  do  as  they  have  promised  for  thee? 

Ansxv,  Yes,  verily;  and  by  God's  help  so  I  will. 
And  I  heartily  thank  our  heavenly  Father,  that  he 
hath  called  me  to  this  state  of  Salvation,  through  Je- 
sus Christ  our  Saviour.  And  I  pray  unto  God  to 
give  me  his  grace,  that  I  may  continue  in  the  same 
unto  my  life's  end. 

Catechist,  Rehearse  the  Articles  of  thy  Belief. 

Answ.  I  believe  in  God  the  Father  Almighty, 
Maker  of  Heaven  and  Earth  : 

And  in  Jesus  Christ,  his  only  Son,  our  Lord; 
Who  was  conceived  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  born  of  the 
Virgin  Mary,  suffered  under  Pontius  Pilate,  was 
crucified,  dead  and  buried;  He  descended  into  Hell; 
The  third  day  he  arose  from  the  dead;  He  ascended 
into  Heaven,  andsitteth  on  the  Right  Hand  of  God 
the  Father  Almighty;  From  thence  he  shall  come  to 
judge  the  quick  and  the  dead. 

I  believe  in  the  Holy  Ghost;  The  holy  Catholic 
Church;  The  communion  of  Saints;  The  forgiveness 
of  sins;  The  resurrection  of  the  body;  And  the  life 
everlasting.     Amen. 

Quest,  What  dost  thou  chiefly  learn  in  these  arti- 
cles of  thy  Belief? 

Answ-  First,  I  learn  to  believe  in  God  the  Father, 
who  hath  made  me  and  all  the  world. 


THE  CATECHISM. 

Secondly,  In  God  the  Son,  who  hath  redeemed  me 
and  all  mankind. 

Thirdly,  in  God  the  Holy  Ghost,  who  sanctifieth 
me,  and  all  the  people  of  God. 

Quest,  You  said,  that  your  Sponsors  did  promise 
for  you,  that  you  should  keep  God's  commandments: 
Tell  me  how  many  there  are. 

Answ,  Ten. 

Quest.  Which  are  they? 

Answ*  The  same  which  God  spake  in  the  twen- 
tieth chapter  of  Exodus,  saying,  I  am  the  Lord  thy 
God,  who  brought  thee  out  of  the  Land  of  Egypt, 
out  of  the  house  of  bondage. 

I.  Thou  shalt  have  none  other  gods  but  me. 

IL  Thou  shalt  not  make  to  thyself  any  graven  image, 
nor  the  likeness  of  any  thing  that  is  in  Heaven  above, 
or  in  the  earth  beneath,  or  in  the  water  under  the 
earth.  Thou  shalt  not  bow  down  to  them,  nor  wor- 
ship them:  For  I  the  Lord,  thy  God,  am  a  jealous 
God,  and  visit  the  sins  of  the  fathers  upon  the  chil- 
dren, unto  the  third  and  fourth  generation  of  them 
that  hate  me;  and  show  mercy  unto  thousands  in  them 
that  love  me,  and  keep  my  commandments. 

in.  Thou  shalt  not  take  the  name  of  the  Lord  thy 
God  in  vain:  For  the  Lord  will  not  hold  him  guilt- 
less, that  taketh  his  name  in  vain. 


3ti  THE  CATECHISM. 

IV.  Remember  that  thou  keep  holy  the  Sabbath 
day.  Six  days  shalt  thou  labour,  and  do  all  that  thou 
hast  to  do;  but  the  seventh  day  is  the  sabbath  of  the 
Lord  thy  God:  In  it  thou  shalt  do  no  manner  of  work, 
thou,  and  thy  son,  and  thy  daughter,  thy  man-servant 
and  thy  maid- servant,  thy  cattle,  and  the  stranger 
that  is  within  thy  gates.  For  in  six  days  the  Lord 
made  Heaven  and  Earth,  the  Sea,  and  all  that  in  them 
is,  and  rested  the  seventh  day;  wherefore  the  Lord 
blessed  the  seventh  day  and  hallowed  it. 

V.  Honour  thy  father  and  thy  mother,  that  thy 
days  may  be  long  in  the  land  which  the  Lord  thy  God 
giveth  thee. 

VI.  Thou  shalt  do  no  murder. 

VII.  Thou  shalt  not  commit  adultery. 

VIII.  Thou  shalt  not  steal. 

IX.  Thou  shalt  not  bear  false  witness  against  thy 
neighbour. 

X.  Thou  shalt  not  covet  thy  neighbour's  house, 
thou  shalt  not  covet  thy  neighbour's  wife,  nor  his 
servant,  nor  his  maid,  nor  his  ox,  nor  his  ass;  nor  any 
thing  that  is  his. 

Quest.  What  dost  thou  chiefly-  learn  by  these 
Commandments? 

Ansrw.  I  learn  two  things;  my  duty  towards  God, 
and  my  duty  towards  my  neighbour. 


THE  CATECHISM.  sr 

Quest.  What  is  thy  duty  towards  God? 

Answ,  My  duty  towards  God  is,  to  believe  in  him, 
to  fear  him,  and  to  love  him,  with  all  my  heart,  with 
all  my  mind,  with  all  my  soul,  and  with  all  my 
strength;  to  worship  him;  to  give  him  thanks;  to  put 
my  whole  trust  in  him;  to  call  upon  him;  to  honour 
his  holy  name  and  his  word;  and  to  serve  him  truly  all 
the  days  of  my  life. 

Quest,  What  is  thy  duty  towards  thy   neighbour? 

Answ.  My  duty  towards  my  neighbour  is,  to  love 
him  as  myself,  and  to  do  to  all  men,  as  I  would  they 
should  do  unto  me:  To  love,  honour,  and  succour 
my  father  and  mother:  To  honour  and  obey  the  civil 
authority:  To  submit  myself  to  all  my  governors, 
teachers,  spiritual  pastors,  and  masters:  To  order  my- 
self lowly  and  reverently  to  all  my  betters:  To  hurt 
nobody  by  word  or  deed:  To  be  true  and  just  in  all  my 
dealings:  To  bear  no  malice  nor  hatred  in  my  heart: 
To  keep  my  hands  from  picking  and  stealing,  and 
my  tongue  from  evil  speaking,  lying,  and  slander- 
ing: To  keep  my  body  in  temperance,  soberness, 
and  chastity:  Not  to  covet  nor  desire  other  men's 
goods,  but  to  learn  and  labour  truly  to  get  mine 
own  living,  and  to  do  my  duty  in  that  state  of  life, 
unto  which  it  shall  please  God  to  call  me. 

Catechist.  My  good  child,  know  this,  that  thou 


?8  THE  CATECHISM. 

art  not  able  to  do  these  things  of  thyself,  nor  to  walk 
in  the  Commandments  of  God,  and  to  serve  him, 
witliout  his  special  Grace,  which  thou  must  learn  at 
all  times  to  call  for  by  diligent  prayer.  Let  me  hear, 
therefore,  if  thou  canst  say  the  Lord's  Prayer. 

Answ.  Our  Father,  who  art  in  Heaven,  Hallowed  be 
thy  name;  Thy  kingdom  come;  Thy  will  be  done  on 
Earth  as  it  is  in  Heaven;  Give  us  this  day,  our  daily 
bread;  And  forgive  us  our  trespasses,  as  we  forgive 
those  who  trespass  against  us;  And  lead  us  not  into 
temptation,  but  deliver  us  from  evil;  for  thine  is  the 
kingdom,  and  the  power,  and  the  glory,  forever  and 
ever.     Amen, 

Quest.  What  desirest  thou  of  God  in  this  prayer? 

Answ.  I  desire  my  Lord  God,  our  Heavenly  Fa- 
ther, who  is  the  giver  of  all  goodness,  to  send  his 
grace  unto  me  and  to  all  people;  that  we  may  worship 
him,  serve  him,  and  obey  him,  as  we  ought  to  do. 
And  I  pray  unto  God,  that  he  will  send  us  all  things 
that  be  needful  both  for  our  souls  and  bodies;  and 
that  he  will  be  merciful  unto  us,  and  forgive  us  our 
sins;  and  that  it  will  please  him  to  save  and  defend 
us  in  all  dangers  both  of  soul  and  body;  and  that  he 
will  keep  us  from  all  sin  and  wickedness,  and  from 
our  spiritual  enemy,  and  from  everlasting  death. 
And  this  I  trust  he  will  do  of  his  mercy  and  goodness, 


THE  CATECHISM.  39 

through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ;  and  therefore  I  say, 
Amen.     So  be  it. 

Quest.  How  many  Sacraments  hath  Christ  ordain- 
ed in  his  Church? 

Answ,  Two  only,  as  generally  necessary  to  Salva- 
tion; that  is  to  say,  Baptism,  and  the  Supper  of  the 
Lord. 

Quest,  What  meanest  thou  by  this  word  Sacrament? 

Answ.  I  mean  an  outward  and  visible  sign  of  an 
inward  and  spiritual  grace  given  unto  us;  ordained 
by  Christ  himself;  as  a  mean  whereby  we  receive  the 
same,  and  a  pledge  to  assure  us  thereof.* 

Quest.  How  many  parts  are  there  in  a  Sacrament? 

Answ.  Two;  the  outward  visible  sign,  and  the  in- 
ward spiritual  grace. 

Quest.  What  is  the  outward  visible  sign,  or  form, 
in  Baptism? 

Answ.  Water:  wherein  the  person  is  baptised.  In 
the  name  of  the  Father^  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the 
Holy  Ghost. 

Quest.  What  is  the  inward  and  spiritual  grace? 

*  This  definition,  being  somewhat  obscure,  would  perhaps 
be  rendered  more  intelligible  to  the  youthful  understanding, 
by  thus  supplying  the  elliptical  parts. 

"  I  mean  an  outward  and  visible  sign  of  an  inward  and  spiri- 
tual grace  given  unto  us;  which  sign  was  ordained  by  Christ 
himself;  as  a  mean,  whereby  we  receive  that  grace,  and  a 
pledge  to  assure  us  thereof.** 


40  THE  CATECHISM. 

Answ.  A  death  unto  sin,  and  a  new  birth  unto 
righteousness;  For,  being  by  nature  born  in  sin,  and 
the  children  of  wrath,  we  are  hereby  made  the  chil- 
dren of  grace. 

Quest.  What  is  required  of  persons  to  be  baptised? 
Jnsw.  Repentance,  whereby  they  forsake  sin;  and 
Faith,  whereby  they  steadfastly  believe  the  promises 
of  God  made  to  them  in  that  Sacrament. 

Quest.  Why  then  are  infants  baptised,  when,  by 
reason  of  their  tender  age,  they  cannot  perform  them? 

Answ.  Because  they  promise  them  both^  by  their 
sureties;  which  promise,  when  they  come  to  age, 
themselves  are  bound  to  perform. 

Quest.  Why  was  the  Sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Sup- 
per ordained? 

Answ.  For  the  continual  remembrance  of  the  sa- 
crifice of  the  death  of  Christ,  and  of  the  benefits  which 
we  receive  thereby. 

Quest.  What  is  the  outward  part,  or  sign,  of  the 
Lord's  Supper? 

Answ.  Bread  and  wine,  which  the  Lord  hath 
commanded  to  be  received. 

Quest.  What  is  the  inward  part  or  thing  signified? 

Answ.  The  body  and  blood  of  Christ,  which  are 
spiritually  taken  and  received  by  the  faithful  in  the 
Lord's  Supper. 

*    Viz.  Repentance  and  Faith • 


l^HE  CATECHISM.  41 

Q^iiest,  What  are  the  benefits  whereof  we  are  par- 
takers thereby? 

Answ.  The  strengthening  and  refreshing  of  our 

sonls  bj  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ,  as  our  bodies 
are  by  the  bread  -and  wine. 

Quest,  What  is  required  of  those  who  come  to  the 
Lord's  Supper? 

Answ.  To  examine  themselves,  whether  they  re- 
cent them  truly  of  their  former  sins,  steadfastly  pur- 
posiiig  to  lead  a  new  life;  to  have  a  lively  faith  in 
God's  mercy,  through  Christ,  with  a  thankful  remem- 
brance of  his  death;  and  to  be  in  charity  with  all  men. 

F.XD    OF    TH©     CATECHISM. 


APPENDIX. 


The  follorwing  Qtiestions  are  added  to  impress  more 
deeply  upon  the  young  mind^  some  of  the  leading 
principles  of  our  faith. 

Quest.  Who  created  you? 

Answ.  God. 

Quest.  Who  is  God? 

Answ.  One  Almighty,  Eternal  Spirit,  consisting 
of  Three  Persons,  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost;  The 
Creator  and  Sovereign  Lord  of  the  universe;  infi- 
nitely great,  and  infinitely  good:  and,  in  this  adorable 
Trinity,  die  Father  is  termed  Xht  first  Person. 

Quest.  Where  is  God? 

Answ.  Every  where:  but  he  is  said  principally  to 
be  in  Heaven,  w^hencehe  sees  all  our  thoughts,  words, 
and  actions;  and  will  reward  or  punish  them,  accor- 
ding as  they  are  good  or  bad. 

Quest.  What  do  you  mean  by  Heaven? 

Answ.  That  place  where  God  is  pleased  to  display 
his  presence  and  majesty,  in  the  most  conspicuous 
manner;  and  though  God  is  present  in  all  places,  yet 


fie  more  particularly  displa}'S  his  gloly  to  biessisd  and 
purified  spirits. 

Quest,  Who  redeemed  you? 

Answ.  Jesus  Christ? 

Quest.  Who  is  Jesus  Christ. 

Ansiv,  The  Son  of  God;  the  second  Person  in  the 
adorable  Trinity. 

Quest.  Did  Christ  ever  assert  his  divinity ,  by  cal- 
ling himself  the  Son  of  God? 

Ansiv.  Yes;  repeatedly.  He  said  that  he  was  one 
Avith  God,  and  partook  of  the  glory  of  God  before  the 
world  was. 

Quest.  Can  you  repeat  the  passage  which  contains 
this  assertion? 

Answ.  Yes:  "And  now,  O  Father!  Glorify  thou  me 
with  thine  own  self^  with  the  glory  which  I  had  with 
thee  before  the  world  was."-^ 

Quest.  Are  there  any  other  scriptural  authorities 
of  a  similar  nature. 

Answ.  He  said, "  I  and  my  Father  are  one.^f  ^'  The 
Father  loveth  the  Son,  and  hath  given  all  things  into 
his  hand.  J"  *'  What  things  soever  the  Father  doeth, 
those  also  doeth  the  Son.  ^ "  "  The  Father  hath  commit- 
ted all  judgment  unto  the  Son,  that  all  men  should 
honour  the  Son  even  as  they  honour  the  Father.  |(" 

*  John,  xvii.  5.    t  John,  x.  30.    i  John,  iii.  o'5. 
§  John.v.  19.      !i  John.  v.  ^2 


-APPENDIX.  4.'^ 

(yluest.  What  other  declarations  of  his  divinity  are 
in  the  Holy  Scriptures? 

Answ,  Many.  He  is  declared  by  the  ancient  pro- 
phets to  be  *^ Emmanuel"* that  is, God  with  us.  "The 
Lord."  "  Jehovah  our  righteouness"f  "  The  mighty 
God  J  &c.  An  angel  at  his  birth  declared  him  to  be 
"  Christ,  the  Lord.  "§  The  devils  when  cast  out  addressed 
him  as  "  The  Son  of  God"  i|  The  Jews  condemned  him 
to  death,  and  crucified  him,  for  asserting  it:  the  apostles, 
after  his  resurrection  and  ascension,  preached  it  to 
the  world,  declaring  him  to  be  "  God,  manifest  in  the 
flesh:  "^  *'  in  whom  dwelt  all  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead 
bodily:"**  and  many  meek  and  holy  martyrs  sealed 
their  faith  in  him  as  such,  with  their  blood. 

Quest.  What  testimony  does  the  great  apostle  of  the 
Gentiles,  St.  Paul,  give  of  his  divinity? 

Answ.  He  explicitly  asserts  it  in  all  his  Epistles  and 
particularly  in  that  to  Titus,  he  says,  "looking  for 
that  blessed  hope  and  the  glorious  appearance  of  our 
great  God  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ". ff 

Quest,  How  did  Jesus  Christ  redeem  you? 

Answ.  By  descending  from  Heaven,  taking  our 
nature  upon  him,  and  (after  setting  us  an  example, 

*  Isa.  vii.  14.  I  Jer.  xxviii.  6.  \  Isa.  ix.  6. 

11  Mark.  iii.  11.  If  1  Tim.  iii.  16.  **  Col.  ii.  9. 

§  Luke.  ii.  II.  ff  Tit.  ii.  1 3  That  the  above  is  the  cor- 

rect and  literal  trail slation  of  the  original  Greek,  every  scholar 
who   nmlefst.auds  tljat  language,  must  kno-\r. 


45  y\PPENDIX> 

and  instructing  us  in  the  nature  of  a  divine  life,)  sub- 
mitting to  death  upon  the  cross:  thereby  making  a 
full  and  perfect  oblation  and  satisfaction,  for  the  sins 
of  the  whole  world. 

Quest,  What  offices  doth  Christ,  the  Messiah,  exe- 
cute as  our  Redeemer? 

Answ,  Those  of  Prophet,  Priest,  and  King. 

Quest.  How  as  a  prophet? 

Answ,  As  a  prophet  he  foretold  future  events;  and 
he  instructs  us  most  perfectly  by  his  word*  and  holy 
spiritf  in  the  will  of  God,  for  our  salvation. 

Quest.  How  doth  Christ  execute  the  office  of  a 
priest? 

Answ.  As  a  priest,  he  satisfied  divine  justice  in 
behalf  of  mankind,  by  offering  up  himself  a  sacrifice  for 
the  sins  of  the  whole  worldf;  and  in  making  interces- 
sion for  us.^ 

Quest.  How  doth  he  execute  the  office  of  a  king? 

Answ.  As  a  king  he  established  "  a  spiritual  king« 
dom  of  which  there  shall  be  no  end:"||  He  rules  and 
defends  his  church,  or  those  who  belong  to  his  king- 
dom, restraining  and  conquering  all  its  spiritual 
enemies.^ 

*  John,  XV.  15.  t  John,  xiv.  26.  |  Eph.  v.  2. 

§  Heb.  vii.  25.  I!  Luke.  i.  53.  %  Cor.  xv.  25. 


APPENDIX.  47 

Quest.  What  are  the  outward  means  by  which 
Christ  communicateth  to  us  the  benefits  of  redemption. 
Answ.  They  are  the  Holy  Scriptures,  the  two  Sacra- 
ments of  Baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper,  and  Prayer. 
These  are  the  appointed  channels  of  divine  grace, 
which  if  faithfully  and  devoutly  received  and  exerci- 
sed, are  rendered  effectual  to  our  salvation. 

Quest,  Does  the  death  of  Christ  ensure  our  Salva- 
tion? 

Answ,  Not  without  our  constant  endeavours  to  lead 
a  holy  life,  by  obeying  God's  holy  will  and  command- 
ments. 

Quest.  How  arc  we  to  know  God's  holy  will  and 
commandments? 

Answ.  By  frequently  and  diligently  reading  the 
Word  of  God,  and  the  explanation  of  it  by  great  and 
good  men. 

Quest,  What  do  you  mean  by  the  Word  of  God? 

Answ.  The  Holy  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New 
Testaments, 

Quest.  How  long  did  Christ  live  on  earth? 

Answ.  About  thirty-three  years. 

Quest,  After  Christ's  death,  how  long  did  his  bo^ 
dy  remain  in  the  grave? 


48  APPENDIX. 

Answ,  Until  the  third  day.  "  On  the  third  day,  he 
rose  again." 

Quest.  Did  Christ  ascend  immediately  into  Hea- 
ven after  his  resurrection? 

Answ.  No. 

Quest.  How  long  did  Christ  remain  on  earth  after 
his  resurrection? 

Answ.  Forty  days. 

Quest.  Why  did  Christ  remain  on  eaith  after  his 
resurrection? 

Answ.  To  show  that  he  was  really  risen,  to  con- 
firm thereby  his  divine  authority,  and  to  instruct  his 
disciples. 

Quest.  After  Christ  had  remained  forty  days  up- 
on earth,  where  did  he  go? 

Answ.  He  ascended  into  Heaven. 

Quest.  Why  did  Christ  ascend  into  Heaven? 

Answ.  To  resume  his  eternal  glory;  to  open  Hea- 
ven, and  make  perpetual  intercession  for  all  believers; 
and  to  confer  on  them  the  gifts  and  influence  of  the  Ho- 
ly Ghost? 

Quest.  Who  is  the  Holy  Ghost? 

Ajisw.  TheHoIy  Spirit  of  God,  the  third  Person 
in  the  adorable  Trinity,  and  the  Comforter  promised 
by  Jesus  Christ,  by  whom  through  Christ,  we  have 
access  unto  the  Father. 


APPENDIX.  49 

Quest,  Why  did  God  send  the  Holy  Ghost? 

Answ,  To  confer  upon  the  apostles  the  gift  of 
tongues,  and  the  power  of  working  miracles;  and  for 
our  sanctification,  spiritual  strength,  and  comfort:  to 
be  our  guide,  through  the  temptations  and  miseries 
of  this  world;  and  to  conduct  us,  by  the  paths  of  vir- 
tue and  holiness,  unto  Heaven. 

Quest,  How  can  we  obtain  the  assistance  and  pro- 
tection of  the  Holy  Ghost? 

Jnsw,  By  Prayer. 

Quest.  What  is  Prayer? 

A72SW.  Prayer  is  the  address  of  the  Soul  to  God, 
and  the  ascent  of  the  mind  towards  Heaven. 

Quest.  Are  all  addresses  to  Almighty  God  of  the 
same  nature  and  efficacy? 

Answ.  They  are  all  of  the  same  efficacy  if  offered 
with  sincerity,  but  the  general  term  Prayer,  or  ad- 
dress to  God,  is  to  be  taken  in  several  different  ac- 
ceptations, viz.  Confession,  Petition,  Supplication, 
Thanksgiving,  Praise,  and  Intercession. 

Quest.  What  do  you  mean  by  Prayer  when  it  sig- 
nifies Confession? 

Answ.  When  we  bewail  our  sins  with  sorrow  and 
full  purposes  of  amendment,  it  is  called  Confession. 

Quest.  What  do  you  mean  by  Prayer  when  it  is 
called  Petition? 


.50  APPExNDlX. 

jlnsrv.  It   is    called   Petition,  when   we   implore 
God's  mercy,  and  desire  any  favour  from  him. 
Quest,  What  is  meant  by  Supplication? 
Answ.  We  are  said  to  offer  up  Supplication,  when 
we  entreat  God  to  defend  us  from  evil. 

Quest.  What  do  you  mean  by  Thanksgiving? 
■    Ansiv.  Thanksgiving  is  when  we  express  a  grate- 
ful sense  of  benefits  received. 
Quest.  What  is  Praise? 

Answ.  Weai-e  said  to  offer  Praise  when  we  ac- 
knowledge and  adore  the  Divine  perfections. 

Quest.  What  is  meant  by  the  term  Intercession? 
Answ.  When    in  oiu'  address  to  God  we  beg  any 
thing  for  others,  it  is  styled  Intercession. 

Quest.  Doth  our  Church  prescribe  any  ordinance 
as  intermediate  between  the  two  Sacraments  of  Bap- 
tism and  the  Lord's  Supper? 

Answ.  Yes,  I'hat  of  Confirmation. 
Quest.  What  is  Confirmation'? 
Answ.  A  solemn  Rite  instituted  by  the  Apostles, 
the  administration  ot"  which  devolved  on  their  succes- 
sors, the  Bishops  of  the  Catholic  Church;  whereby, 
with  laying  on  of  hands,  and  authoritative  benedic- 
tion of  such  as  have  been  baptised,  the  Bishop  im- 
plores for  them  an  incj'ease  of  God's  heavenly  grace, 
that  they  may  continue  his  faithful  servants  forever, 
and  grow  in  grace,  till  they  are  received  into  glory. 


APPENDIX  51 

Quest,  What  is  the  end  and  design  of  Confirma- 
tion? 

Answ.  That  baptised  Christians  should,  when 
they  come  to  a  proper  age,  by  their  own  deliberate 
choice  take  upon  themselves  those  vows  and  promi- 
ses, ^vhich  were  made  in  their  names,  by  their  spon- 
sors, when  they  were  admitted  members  of  Christ's 
Church;  so  that  the  confirmed  person  expressly  con- 
sents to  the  baptismal  covenant;  and  before  God,  and 
many  witnesses,  engages  to  perform  his  part  of  it. 

Quest,  What  preparation  is  neccessary  before  Con- 
firmation? 

Ansxv.  The  persons  to  be  confirmed,  ought  to  ex- 
amine themselves  concerning  those  sins  either  of 
omission  or  commission,  which  they  have  been  guil- 
ty of,  in  thought,  word  or  deed;  to  express  to  God 
their  hearty  sorrow  for  them;  and  earnestly  to  beg 
his  pardon  and  forgiveness:  to  which  they  must  add 
serious  resolutions  of  living  answerably  to  the  Chris- 
tian profession. 

Quest,  What  is  necessary  to  enable  us  to  con- 
tinue in  that  good  way  wherein  Confirmation  places 
us? 

Answ.  A  uniform  obedience  to  all  God's  com- 
mandments; and,  in  particular,  a  frequent  and  devout 


52  APPENDIX. 

partaking  of  the  Holy  Communion;  for,  without  ma- 
king use  of  the  means,  we  cannot  justly  expect  to  ob- 
tain the  end,  viz.   The  Salvation  of  our  Souls. 

Quest.  You  say,  that  by  Baptism  you  became  a 
member  of  Christ's  Church:  what  do  you  mean  by 
the  Church  of  Christ? 

jinsxv.  *'  The  visible  Church  of  Christ  is  a  congre- 
gation of  faithful  men,  in  which  the  pure  word  of 
God  is  preached,  and  the  Sacraments  are  duly  admin- 
istered according  to  Christ's  ordinance."* 

Quest.  Who  have  authority  in  the  Church  of  Christ, 
to  preach  the  word,  and  to  administer  the  two  Sacra- 
ments? 

Answ.  "  It  is  not  lawful  for  am*  man  to  take  up- 
on him  the  office  of  public  preaching,  or  ministering 
the  Sacraments  in  the  congregation,  before  he  ])e  law- 
fully called  and  sent  to  execute  the  same.  And  those 
we  ought  to  judge  lawfully  called  and  sent,  who  are 
chosen  and  called  to  this  work  by  men  who  have  pub- 
lic authority  given  unto  them  in  the  congregation  to 
call  and  send  ministers  into  the  Lord's  vineyard."! 
Quest.  Who  have  public  authority  to  send  them? 
Answ.  "  It  is  evident  to  all  men  diligently  reading 
Holy  Scripture  and  ancient  authors,  that  from  the 

♦  19th  Article  of  Religion.  ^  23d  Article. 


APPENDIX.  53 

apostles'  time  there  have  been  these  orders  of  minis- 
ters in  Christ's  church,  Bishops,  Priests,  and  Dea- 
cons;" and  that  these  were  appointed  by  Almighty 
God,  by  His  Divine  Providence,  and  by  His  Holy 
Spirit  and  further,  that "  no  man  is  to  be  esteemed  a 
lawful  Bishop,  Priest,  or  Deacon  in  this  church,  or 
suffered  to  execute  any  of  the  said  functions,  ex- 
cept he  hath  had  Episcopal  Consecration  or  Ordina- 
tion."* 

Quest,  What  is  the  office  of  a  Bisljop? 

Answ.  The  office  of  a  Bishop,  besides  the  duties 
which  lie  on  him  in  common  with  Priests,  is,  to  go- 
vern, and  unite  with  his  Episcopal  Brethren  in  go- 
verning the  church;  agreeably  to  the  laws  of  God 
and  tlie  ecclesiastical  canons:  to  ordain  Priests  and 
Deacons:  and  to  administer  the  holy  rite  of  Confir- 
mation. 

Quest,  Whence  does  a  Bishop  receive  his  au- 
thority? 

Answ,  He  receives  it  in  Episcopal  Succession,  his 
consecration  to  the  office  of  Bishop  being  accompa- 
nied by  prayer  and  imposition  of  hands.  According 
to  the  canonsof  this  church,  there  must  be  the  concur- 
ring act  of  at  least  three  Bishops  in  every  consecration. 

Quest.  What  is  the  office  of  a  Priest? 

*  Vi4o  preface  to  Ordination  and  Consecration  Services. 


54  APPENDIX. 

Answ*  The  office  of  a  Priest  or  Presbyter*  is  to 
administer  the  Doctrine  and  Sacraments,  and  the  Disci- 
pline of  Christ  in  subordination  to  the  Episcopal  au- 
thority, agreeably  to  the  laws  of  God,  and  to  the  ca- 
nons of  the  church. 

Quest,  What  is  the  office  of  a  Deacon? 

Ansxv.  The  office  of  a  Deacon  at  first  instituted  for 
the  distribution  of  alms,  had  other  ministries  assign- 
ed to  it,  in  the  time  of  the  Apostles.  In  this  Church 
it  is  defined,  to  consist "  in  assisting  the  Priest  in  divine 
service,  and  especially  when  he  administereth  the  Ho- 
ly Communion;  in  helping  him  in  the  distribution 
thereof;  in  reading  Holy  Scriptures  and  Homilies  in 
the  church;  in  instructing  the  youth  in  the  Catechism; 
in  baptizing  infants  in  the  absence  of  the  Priest;  and 
in  preaching,  if  he  be  admitted  thereunto  by  the 
Bishop." 

{^  For  afulltr   orfilanation  of  the  subjects  of  the  preceding 
questions  in  the  ('atcchis7u  and  J/i/iendix,  see  Thk  Lectures. 

*   These  two  words  are   held  in  this  Church  to  be   synony- 
mous, both  of  them  havhic;  their  ctymoh^i^y  in  the  Greek  word 

t  Ordination  Service. 


APPENDIX.  55 

A  PRAYER  BEFORE  CONFIRMATIOX. 

Most  merciful  God!  by  whose  gracious  Providence 
I  was  born  of  Christian  parents,  and  early  dedicated  to 
thee  in  holy  baptism;  make  me  thoroughly  sensible,  I 
beseech  thee,  of  thy  infinite  goodness  in  bestowing  up- 
on me  the  blessed  privileges  of  being  made  a  xnem- 
ber  of  thy  Church,  a  child  of  God,  and  an  inheritor  of 
the  kingdom  of  Heaven. 

Grant,  O  Lord,  that,  by  the  assistance  of  thy  Grace, 
I  may  carefully  and  zealously  perform  all  those  condi- 
tions, upon  which  thou  wert  pleased  to  vouchsafe  to 
me  such  inestimable  benefits:  that  I  may  renounce  all 
those  evil  customs  and  maxims  of  the  world,  which 
alienate  men's  hearts  from  the  love  of  God:  that  I  may 
mortify  the  inordinate  appetites  of  my  own  carnal 
mind:  that  I  may  believe  all  thy  holy  Revelations,  and 
keep  thy  blessed  Will  and  Commandments  all  the 
daysof  my  life. 

And  now,  O  Lord,  that  I  am  about  to  renew  tlie 
solemn  vows  of  baptism,  and  publicly  in  thy  presence 
to  ratify  all  those  things  I  then  promised  by  my  sure- 
ties; I  humbly  beseech  thee  to  enlighten  my  mind 
with  the  knowledge  and  understanding  of  that  solemn 
engagement  which  I  am  now  about  to  confirm;  and 


56  APPENDIX 

to  influence  my  will  and  all  the  faculties  of  my  soul, 
heartily  and  sincerely  to  perform  it.     Let  not  the  ma- 
ny and  grievous  sins  both  of  omission  and  commission 
that  I  have  been  guilty  of,  deprive  me  of  those  assis- 
tances of  thy  Holy  Spirit,  which  I  now  hope  to  re- 
ceive; but,  on  my  true  repentance,  let  the  precious 
blood  of  my  Saviour  wash  away  all  my  past  transgres- 
sions, and  grant  that  I  may  be  enabled  to  mortify  and 
subdue  my  evil  propensities  for  the  time  to  come. 
And,  "  forasmuch  as  without  thee  I  am  not  able  to 
please  thee,"  increase  in  me,  O  Lord,  more  and  more, 
the  gifts  of  thy  Holy  Spirit,  that   I  may  be  wise  for 
eternity,  and  make  it  the  chief  business  of  my  life  to 
please  thee  in  all  my  actions;  that  I  may  love  and  fear 
thee  above  all  things,  that  I  may  be  just  and  righte- 
ous in  all  m}'   dealings,  and  ready  to  communicate  to 
the  necessities  of  others;  that  I  may  keep  a  constant 
watch  over  myself,  so  as  not  to  exceed  the  bounds  of 
temperance  and  sobriety;  that  no  danger  or  difficulty 
may  deter  me  from  doing  my  duty  in  that  state  of  life 
in  which  it  shall  please  thy  Providence  to  place  me; 
that  no  temptation  by  pleasure  or  persuasion  may  make 
me  careless  and  negligent  in  the  performance  of  it;  and 
that,  under  afilictions  the  most  grievous  to  flesh  and 
blood,  I  may  be  entirely  resigned,  and  submit  to  thy 
Holy  Will  and  Pleasure.     Let  thy  Holy  Spirit,  O 


APPENDIX.  57 

Lord,  so  guide  and  govern  me  through  the  ^vhole 
course  of  my  short  probationary  life  in  this  world,  that 
I  may  not  fail  to  obtain  eternal  life  in  the  world  to  come, 
through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.     Amen. 

A  PRAYER  AFTER  CONFIRMATION. 

Omniscient  and  Almighty  God!  who,  by 
the  mission,  atonement,  and  intercession  of  thy  bles- 
sed Son,  hast  taught  us  the  way  to,  and  enabled  us  to 
obtain,  eternal  life;  and,  by  the  influence  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  the  Comforter,  dost  lead  us,  when  we  ask 
aright,  to  do  such  things  as  shall  please  thee,  and  to 
walk  in  the  path  which  leads  to  thy  Heavenly  King- 
dom, bless,  I  most  humbly  beseech  thee,  the  means 
which  I  have  now  conformed  to  for  obtaining  this 
divine  assistance.  Strengthen  my  Faith,  enlarge  my 
Hope,  increase  my  Charity,  and  perfect  my  Repen- 
tance. May  the  late  renewal  of  my  baptismal  vows, 
and  the  consequent  dedication  of  myself  to  thee  and 
thy  service,  be  ever  active  in  my  mind,  and  make  me 
unweariedly  vigilant  and  diligent  in  working  out  my 
salvation.  May  the  precepts  and  example  of  my  di-  ^ 
vine  Saviour  regulate  my  conduct  towards  thee  and 
towards  my  fellow-creatures;  and  may  I  become  a  wor- 
thy partaker  of  that  Holy  Ordinance  which  he  hath  in- 


t^P  APPE>?D)X. 

stituted  as  an  additional  means  of  grace,  and  in  remem- 
brance of  his  blessed  passion  and  death. 

As  I  have  now  voluntarily  taken  upon  myself 
those  vows  and  promises  which  were  made  in  my  be- 
half by  my  sponsors  at  the  time  of  my  baptism,  ena 
ble  me,  I  beseech  thee,  so  to  fulfil  them,  that  I  may 
walk  w^orthy  of  the  vocation  wherewith  thou  hast  cal- 
led me.     May  a  constant  sense  of  thy  omnipresence, 
and  of  the  solemn  account  I  must  hereafter  render  un- 
to thee  of  my  stewai'dship,  restrain  the  indulgence  of 
all  inordinate  desires,  and  a  compliance  with  any  of  the 
temptations  of  the  Devil,  the  World,  and  the  Flesh; 
and  may  a  devout  and  grateful  consciousness  of  thine 
infinite  mercy,  and  unmerited  bounty  to  me,  both 
with  respect  to  this  world  and  that  which  is  to  come, 
induce  the  most  ardent  love  of  thee,  and  the  most  zeaK 
Gus  obedience  to  all  thy  commandments.     O  God!  be 
merciful  to  me  a  sinner?  Bless  and  preserve  me  from 
all  evil,  both  temporal  and  eternal,  for  the  sake  of  Je- 
sus Christ,  my  Saviour  and  Redeemer.     Amen. 

A  DAITiY  MORNING  PRATER. 

O  THOU  infinitely  great,  good,  and  glorious  Be- 
ing! who  art  the  author  of  my  existence,  and  the  giv- 
er of  ev^n^  good  gift  to  man;  I,  thy  sinful  creature, 


present  to  thy  Divine  Majesty,  my  Morning  sacrifice 
of  praise  and  thanksgiving  for  all  thy  goodness  to  me; 
particularly  for  thy  preservation  of  me  during  the  past 
night,  and  for  bringing  me  safe  to  the  beginning  of 
this  day;  but  above  all  I  praise  thee  for  the  redemp- 
tion of  mankind  by  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  for  the 
means  of  grace,  and  for  the  hope  of  glory.     Defend 
me  this  day,  I  beseech  thee,  with  thy  mighty  power; 
and  grant,  that  I  may  not  fall  into  any  sin  or  run  into 
any  kind  of  danger;  but  that  all  my  thoughts,  words, 
and  actions,  being  regulated  by  thy  commandments, 
may  be  acceptable  in  thy  sight.     Teach  me  to  re- 
member thee  my  Creator  in  the  days  of  my  youth; 
preserve  me  from  those  errors   and   follies  to  which 
through  the  ignorance  and  weakness  of  my  youth  I 
am  particularly  exposed.     Deliver  me  from  the  cor- 
ruption of  my  own  heart,  and  protect  me  from  the 
temptations  of  evil  company.     Enlighten  my  under- 
standing,  and  enable  me  daily  to  increase  in  know- 
ledge, in  wisdom,  and  in  all  virtue;  and  let  the  blessed 
influence  of  thy  Holy  Spirit  continually  comfort  and 
direct  me.     I  humbly  beg  thy  blessing  also  upon  my 
relations,  friends,  preceptors,  and  neighbours;  grant 
to  them  and  to  me,  whatsoever  may  be  truly  beneficial 
to  us  in  this  life,  and  finally  guide *us  to  life  everlast- 
ing, through  the  mediation  pf  thy  blessed  Son  Jesus 


6#  APPENDrX. 

Christ,  cur  Redeemer,  in  whose  holy  name  and  words 
I  sum  up  my  petitions,  saying, 
Our  Father^  &fr. 

A  DAILY  EVENING  PRATER. 

OAl MIGHTY  Go D ,  my  Creator  and  bounti- 
ful Benefactor!  by  whose  power  and  goodness  I  have 
been  permitted  to  live  another  day.     I  beseech  thee 
to  continue  thy  gracious  protection  to  me  this  night. 
Defend  me  from  all  evil,  and  grant  that  I  may  enjoy 
such  refreshing  sleep  as  may  fit  me  for  the  duties  of 
the  following  day.  Send  down  thy  blessings  temporal 
and  spiritual  upon  me,  my  relations,  friends,  precep- 
tors, and  neighbours;  and  give  us  grace  to  show  our 
thankfulness  for  them,  by  a  sincere  obedience  to  his 
laws,  through  whose^erits  and  intercession  we  re- 
ceive them  all,  thy  Son  our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ.     I 
humbly  beseech  thee,  O  Heavenly  Father!  to  pardon 
whatsoever  thou  hast  seen  amiss  this  day   in   my 
thoughts,   words,   and  actions,  (particularly*)  make 
me  thoroughly  sensible  of  the  great  weakness  and  cor- 
ruption of  my  nature,  and  the  many,  and  grievous  er- 
rors of  my  life.     May  I  be  ever  mindful  of  the  value 

*  Ihrv  covfcss  every  sin  which  hath  been  committed  during 
the  day  iniat:  whether  lyin^,  takini^  God's  mime  in  vain, 
<3isobf<iici)cc    tu  purciits,    sjtouliiir,  (lluuTclii«i,^  or  any  otlicr. 


APPENDIX,  61 

and  rapid  flight  of  Time,  and  of  the  certainty  of  Death, 
Judgment,  and  Eternity.  Enable  me  by  the  aid  of 
the  Holy  Ghost,  the  celestial  Comforter^  daily  to  in- 
crease in  the  knowledge  and  love  of  thee,  my  God. 
Bless  whatsoever  good  instructions  have  been  given 
me  this  day;  may  I  carefully  remember  and  duly  im- 
prove them,  that  I  may  be  ever  growing  in  wisdom 
and  goodness — Grant  my  petitions  and  accept  my  un- 
feigned thanks  for  thy  innumerable  mercies,  for  Je- 
sus Christ's  sake,  who  hath  taught  me  thus  to  implore 
thy  favour  and  forgiveness: 
Our  Father,  ^c, 

PRAYER 

On  Reading  the  Holy  Scriptures. 

Blessed  Lord!  who  hast  caused  all  Holy 
Scriptures  to  be  written  for  our  learning,  grant  that 
I  may  in  such  w^ise  hear  them,  read,  mark,  learn,  and 
inwardly  digest  them,  that  by  patience  and  comfort 
of  thy  Holy  word,  I  may  embrace,  and  ever  hold  fast, 
the  blessed  hope  of  everlasting  life,  which  thou  hast 
given  us,  in  thy  son  our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ. 
Amen. 


^i  APPENmX. 

Petition 

On  Entering  the  Church. 

Lord!  I  have  now  come  to  worship  thee  in  thy 
Holy  Temple.  Let  thy  Holy  Spirit,  I  beseech  thee^ 
dispose  my  heart  to  seriousness,  attention,  and  ardent 
devotion,  for  the  sake  of  Jesus  Christ  thy  son,  my  Re- 
deemer.    Amen. 

i'ETITION 

»4fter  Divine  Service  is  ended, 

O  God!  be  merciful  to  me  a  sinner!  Make  me,  I 
beseech  thee,  a  doer  of  thy  word  and  not  a  hearer  only. 
Accept  the  homage  which  I  have  at  this  time  offered 
unto  thee,  and  bless  the  ministration  of  thy  word  and 
ordinances,  that  they  may  tend  to  the  salvation  of 
my  soul,  through  the  mediation  and  intercession  of 
Jesus  Christ,  thy  well-beloved  Son.     Amen. 

Grace  before  meat. 

May  God  give  us  his  blessing  with  this  portion 
of  his  bounty,  and  make  us  thankful  for  all  his  mer- 
cies; throu2:h  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.     x\men. 


APPENDIX.  hj 

Grace  after  meat. 

For  this  and  all  other  instances  of  his  bountiful 
providence,  God's  holy  name  be  blessed  and  praised, 
through  Jesus  Christ  our  Saviour.    Amen. 

EJACULATION 

On  rising  in  the  morning. 

O  Lord!  as  I  now  awake  from  my  natural 
sleep,  I  must  one  day  awake  from  the  sleep  of  death, 
and  rise  to  Judgment.  Grant  me  thy  grace  so  to  em- 
ploy the  talents  thou  hast  committed  to  me,  that  I 
may  then  be  received  by  thee,  as  "  a  good  and  faithful 
servant!" 

EJACULATION 

Ongoing  to  bed  at  night. 

Lord!  as  I  now  go  to  my  bed,  I  must  one  day 
go  to  my  grave.  O!  make  me  seriously  reflect  upon, 
and  diligently  prepare  for,  that  awful  period! 

GENERAL  EJACULATION. 

O  God!  be  merciful  to  7ne^  a  sinner! 


64  APPENDIX. 

I  have  selected  tlie  four  following  Hymns,  as  being 
peculiarly  calculated  to  impress  the  youthful  mind 
with  sentiments  of  Pietj^nd  Devotion. 

HYMN   I. 

The  excellency  of  the  Holy  Scriptures. 

1  Great  God!   with  wonder  and  with  praise 

On  all  thy  works   I   look! 
But  still  thy  wisdom,  pow'r,  and  grace. 
Shine  brighter  in  thy  Book. 

2  The  stars,  that  in  their  courses  roll, 

Have  much  instruction  giv'n, 
But  thy  good  Word  informs  my  soul 
How  I  may  soar  to  Heav'n. 

3  The  fields  provide  me  food,  and  show 

The  goodness  of  the  Lord; 
But  fruits  of  life  and  glory   grow 
In  thy  most  holy  Word. 

4  Here  are  my  choicest  treasures  hid, 

Here  my  best  comfort  lies; 

Here  my  desires  are  satisfied. 

And  here  my  hopes  arise. 

5  Lord,  make  me  understand  thy  law, 

Show  what  my  faults  have  been; 
And  from  thy  Gospel  let  me  draw 
Pardon  for  all  my  sin. 

6  Here  would  1  learn  hov?  Christ  has  died. 

To  save  my  soul  from  hell: 
Not  all  the  books  on  earth  beside, 
Such  hcav'nly  wonders  tell. 


APPENDIX, 

7   Then  let  mc  love  my  Bible  more, 
And  take  a  fresh  delight, 
By  day  to  read  these  wonders  o'er, 
And  meditate  by  night. 

HYMN   II. 

For  die  Mercies  of  Redemption. 

1  ALL-Glorious  God!  what  hyonns  of  praise 
Shall  our  transported  voices  raise! 
What  ardent  love  and  zeal  arc  due, 
While  Heav'n  stands  open  to  our  view! 

2  Once  we  were  fall'n,  and  O  how  low! 
Just  on  the  brink  of  endless  woj 
When  Jesus,  from  the  realms  above, 
Borne  on  the  wings  of  boundless  love, 

S  Scatter*d  the  shades  of  death  and  night, 
And  spread  around  his  heav'nly  light! 
By  him  what  wondrous  grace  is  shown 
To  souls  impoverish'd  and  undone. 

4  He  shows,  beyond  these  mortal  shores, 
A  bright  inheritance  as  ours; 
Where  Saints  in  light  ©ur  coming  wait, 
To  share  their  holy,  happy  state! 

HYMN    III. 

The  Christian's  Hope. 
1   When,  rising  from  the  bed  of  death, 
O'erwhelm'd  with  guilt  and  fear, 
I  see  my  Maker,  face  to  face; 
O  how  shall  I  appear! 


66  APPENDIX. 

2  If  yet,  while  pardon  may  be  founds 

And  mercy  may  be  sought, 
My  heart  with  inward  horror  shrinks, 
And  trembles  at  the  thought; 

3  When  thou,  O  Lord,  shalt  stand  disclos'd 

In  Majesty  severe, 
And  sit  in  judgment  on  my  soul; 
OI  how  shall  I  appear! 

4  But  thou  hast  told  the  troubled  mind, 

Who  does  her  sins  lament, 
The  timely  tribute  of  her  tears 
Shall  endless  wo  prevent. 

5  Then  see  the  sorrow  of  my  heart, 

Ere  yet  it  be  too  late; 
And  hear  my  Saviour's  dying  groans, 
To  give  these  sorrows  weight. 

6  For  never  shall  my  soul  despair 

Her  pardon  to  procure 
Who  knows  thy  only  Son  has  died 
To  make  her  pardon  sure. 

HYMN    IV. 

Hotham  Tune. 

Christ  our  Refuge. 

Jesu!  Saviour  of  my  soul! 

Let  me  to  Ihy  bosom  fly, 
While  the  foaming  waters  roll, 

While  the  tempest  still  is  highl 

Hide  me,  O!  my  Saviour,  hide, 
'Till  the  storm  of  life  be  past; 

Safe  into  the  haven  guide; 
O  I  receive  my  soul  at  last. 


APPENDIX. 

Other  refuge  have  I  none; 

Hanga  my  helpless  soul  on  thee; 
Leave,  ah  !  leave  me  not  alone, 

Still  support  and  comfort  me. 

All  my  trust  on  thee  is  stay'd; 

All  my  help  from  thee  I  bring; 
Cover  my  defenceless  head, 

With  the  shado^v  of  thy  wing. 


LECTURES 


•  N    THE 


PRECEDING  CATECHISM. 


LECTURE  I. 


INTRODUCTORY. 


MY  DEAR  AND  RESPECTED  PUPILS, 

The  most  natural  and  important  object  which 
the  heart  of  man  can  desire,  that  which  is  most  ardent- 
ly and  universally  sought  for,  is  Happiness.  The 
paths,  indeed,  by  which  we  hope  to  arrive  at  the  pos- 
session of  this  inestimable  treasure,  are  as  various  as  arc 
the  passions,  the  dispositions,  theimagiiiations,  and  the 
understandings  of  men.  All  hope  to  obtain  it,  not- 
withstanding the  repeated,  the  universal  disappointment 
of  those  who  have  gone  before  them  in  tlie  same  paths. 
In  this  general  pursuit,  this  eager  search,  none  have 
ever  been  known  to  prove  successful,  and  to  have  their 
efforts  and  perseverance  rewarded,  but  those  who  have 
sought  for  it  where  nhme  it  can  be  found,  and  by  the 


72  LECTURES  <^N 

path  to  which  the  experience  of  past  ages,  the  sugges- 
tions of  right  reason,  and  the  precepts,  the  persua- 
sions, and  the  promises  of  divine  revelation  all  clear- 
ly and  forcibly  point,  viz.  In  Heaven  hereafter, 
through  the  guidance,  the  support,  and  the  comfort  of 
TRUE  RELIGION  herCy  which has  always  communica- 
ted, and  will  ever  continue  to  communicate,  the  highest 
possible  degree  of  real  and  of  permanent  happiness, 
which  man  is  capable  of  enjoying  in  his  present  im- 
perfect and  degraded  state  of  existence. 

We  hcive  constantly  the  most  striking  proofs  be- 
fore our  eyes,  that  riches,  honours,  fame,  and  even  the 
possession  of  that  first  of  all  blessings,  health,  cannot 
protect  us  from  the  disappointments,  the  vexations, 
the  losses,  and  the  anxieties  to  which  we  are  on  eve- 
ry side  exposed:  and,  above  all,  from  sickness,  pain, 
and  death,  which  unavoidably  assail  every  human  be- 
ing. We  see  and  know,  that  not  only  few,  at  the  ut- 
most extent,  but  uncertain  and  full  of  evil,  are  the 
days  of  miserable  man:  and  we  are  taught  by  reason 
and  the  sure  word  of  God,  that  our  souls,  which  ani- 
mate our  bodies,  are  immortal — that  we  shall  exist 
after  our  departure  from  this  world,  in  another ,  which 
Avill  prove  a  state  of  reward  or  punishment,  accordin)^ 
to  the  tcnonr  of  our  conduct  here. 


THE  CATECHISM.  73 

Under  these  circumstances,  surely,  that  which 
can  enable  us  to  support,  and  can  sooth  and  comfort 
us  under,  '^  all  the  various  ills  that  flesh  is  heir  to," 
which  can  convert  our  sorrows  into  joys,  and  which 
can  prepare  and  qualify  us  for  obtaining  the  full  frui^ 
tion  of  eternal  happiness  among  saints  and  angels  in 
the  kingdom  of  Heaven — surely  that  which  can  pro- 
duce such  great,  such  glorious  effects,  ought  serious- 
ly to  be  attended  to,  and  diligently  cultivated:  and 
such  blessed  effects  the  Christian  religion,  most  assu- 
redly, ^nd  the  Christian  religion  alone,  can  produce. 
To  be  acquainted  with  its  printiples,  therefore,  to 
jknow  its  doctrines,  to  regulate  ourselves  by  its  injunc- 
tions, and  to  experience  its  divine  efficacy,  is  the 
highest  privilege  we  can  possibly  enjoy;  and  conse- 
quently should  be  embraced  with  the  most  ardent  af- 
fection, and  cultivated  with  the  most  unremitted  assi- 
duity and  perseverance,  as  our  chief  good. 

And,  as  impressions  made  upon  the  humaii  mind 
at  an  early  period,  are  not  only  seldom,  if  ever,  erased, 
but  continue  through  life  to  influence  the  senti- 
ments and  guide  the  conduct,  it  is  certainly  of  the  ut- 
most consequence  to  the  formation  of  our  clxiracters, 
and  to  the  promotion  of  our  welfare  in  this  state  of 
being,  as  well  as  in  the  next,  that  the  youthful  mind 
should   receive    correct   and   useful    principles    of 


74  LECTURES  ON 

thought  and  of  action.  Hence,  brief  sketches  of  the 
Christian  system,  containing  its  leading  doctrines  and 
chief  articles  of  faith,  have  been  drawn  up,  under  the 
denomination  of  Catechisms,  by  various  Christian  so- 
cieties; and  though  they  may  differ  from  each  other  in 
point  of  form,  and  some  peculiar  tenets  held  by  each, 
yet  they  all  inculcate  the  essential  principles  of  Chris- 
tianity. And  these  it  is  the  duty  of  parents  and  of 
teachers  to  instil  into  the  minds  of  those  young  per- 
sons who  may  be  committed  by  Providence  to  their 
care.  It  is,  therefore,  part  of  the  discipline  of  this  In- 
stitution, that  you  Should  be  required  frequently  to 
recite  the  Catechism  of  the  respective  Church  to 
which  you  belong:  and  as  that  of  which  I  am  myself  a 
nanister,  and  to  which  a  majority  of  the  youths  of  this 
Seminary  are  attached,  is  the  Episcopal  Church, 
I  shall  offer  to  your  attention  a  course  of  short  Lectures 
upon  our  Catechism,  in  which  I  shall  confine  myself 
to  general  principles,  carefully  avoiding  any  observa- 
tions which  may  tend  to  interfere  with  the  distin- 
gui^ihing  tenets  of  other  Christian  societies.  And  I 
earnestly  and  affectionately  solicit  your  patient  and 
serious  attention  to  the  addresses  which  I  shall  make  to 
you  on  that  most  interesting  of  all  subjects,  Reli- 
gion; particularly  as  they  will  relate  to  that  most  an- 


rilK  CA  IKC  HISM.  :;, 

imating  and  sublime  system  of  faith  and  morals — the 
Christian  Religion. 

Happy  indeed  shall  I  consider  myself,  and  well 
rewarded  for  my  exertions,  if  I  can  convince  you  of 
the  value  of  time,  and  of  the  necessity  of  preparation 
for  eternity;  and  pan  persuade  you  to  walk  in  those 
paths  of  virtue  and  piety,  which  will  infallibly  con- 
duct you  into  the  regions  of  perfect  and  uninterrupt- 
ed felicity. 

Consider,  my  young  friends,  the  high  privilege 
and  distinguished  blessing  you  enjoy,  in  being  born  in 
a  Christian  country,  and  of  Christian  parents;  where, 
as  soon  as  you  are  capable  of  receiving  instruction,  you 
may  hear  the  glad  tidings  of  salvation;  and  be  taught 
to  think  and  to  act  so  as  to  please  God,  and  thereby 
secure  the  benefits  which  must  arise  from  obtaining 
his  favour  and  his  love. 

Consider  the  uncertainty  of  human  life,  and  that 
every  stage  or  period  of  that  life  has  its  peculiar 
duties.  That  among  other  duties  of  youth,  is  to  be 
ranked,  as  of  high  importance,  diligence  in  Acquiring 
the  principles  of  useful  knowledge.  And,  what 
knowledge  can  be  more  useful,  than  that  which  tends 
to  form  the  character,  to  purify  the  heart,  to  render 
yourselves  esteemed  and  respected  in  this  worlds  and 
to  make  a  good  provision  against  the  time  to  come? 


ro  LECTURES  ON 

This  the  Christian  Religion  teaches;  and  I  therefore 
earnestly  request  you  to  learn  its  first  principles,  in 
your  Catechism;  and  diligently  endeavour  to  practise 
what  you  there  learn.  Thus  will  you  be  enabled,  by 
the  use  of  the  means  prescribed,  to  grow  in  grace, 
as  you  grow  in  age;  and  to  obtain  the  favour  both  of 
God  and  man. 

Consider  how  acceptable  it  must  be  to  your 
Heavenly  Father,  your  Almighty  Creator,  Preserver, 
and  constant  Benefactor,  that  you  should  devote  the 
morning  of  life,  and  the  prime  of  your  years  to  his 
service,  and  consequently  to  the  promotion  of  your 
best  interests. 

Samuel,*  Obadiah,t  Josiah,t  John  the  Baptist,} 
and  others,  are  represented  on  the  page  of  Sacred  His- 
tory, as  brilliant  examples  of  early  piety. 

It  is  recorded,  to  the  honour  of  Timothy,  by  St. 
Paul,  who  addressed  two  Epistles  to  him,  "  that  from 
a  child  he  had  known  the  Holy  Scriptures,  which  were 
able  to  make  him  wise  unto  salvation,  through  faith, 
which  is  in  Christ  Jesus."||  "  For,"  says  he,  "  all 
Scripture  is  given  by  inspiration  of  God,  and  is  pro- 
fitable for  doctrine,  for  reproof,  for  correction,  for  in- 

*  1  Samuel,  ii.  26.     t  1  Kings,  xviii.  12.    |  2  Chron.  xxxiv.  3. 
I^Luke,  l.  6.  !!2   Tim.  iii.   15. 


IHE  CATECHISM  rr 

struction  in  righteousness:  that  the  man  of  God  may 
be  perfect,  thoroughly  furnished  unto  all  good 
works."* 

After  these  preliminary  observations,  I  shall 
proceed  in  subsequent  addresses  to  you,  to  consider 
the  principal  parts  of  our  Catechism,  according  to 
the  order  in  which  they  are  presented  to  you. 

And  may  God  of  his  infinite  mercy  grant,  that 
the  doctrines  and  precepts  which  they  shall  inculcate, 
''  may  be  so  grafted  in  your  hearts,  that  they  may 
bring  forth  in  you  the  fruit  of  good  living,  to  the  ho- 
nour and  praise  of  his  holy  name,  through  Jesus 
Christ  our  Lord.     Amen.'* 

*2   Tim.    iii.  16.  17. 


LECTURE  IL 

ON  THE  PREVIOUS  QUESTIONS  AND  FIRST    ARTICLE  OF 
THE  CREED. 

The  Catechism  begins  with  the  question  **  What 
is  your  name?"  meaning,  thereby,  your  Christian 
name,  or,  the  name  given  to  you  when  you  were  bap- 
tized. This  name  is  given  to  us  by  our  sponsors, 
in  testimony  of  our  being  received  into  the  fold,  the 
flock,  or  family  of  Christ,  and  admitted  as  members 
of  the  Christian  Church;  and  should  constantly  re- 
mind us  of  the  priviliges  we  thereby  enjoy,  and  the 
duties  which  result  from  our  thus  entering  into  the 
Christian  covenant. 

It  was  a  practice  common  among  the  Greeks, 
the  Romans,  and  the  Jews,  to  give  a  new  or  additional 
name  upon  adopting  a  new  member  into  a  family: 
nay,  we  read  in  the  Old  Testament,  that  God  himself 
gave  an  early  sanction  to  this  usage,  by  changing  the 
name  of  Abram  into  Abraham,  when  he  formed  a  co- 
venant with  him,  and  instituted   the  riteof  Circum- 


THE  CATECHISM  79 

cision,  with  which  our  rite  of  Baptism  corresponds, 
as  the  form  of  admission  into  the  society  of  the  faith- 
ful worshippers  of  the  one  living  and  true  God.* 
As  the  Jews  were  circumcised  when  they  were  initia- 
ted into  the  Jewish  religion,  so  are  Christians  baptiz- 
ed when  they  are  initiated  into,  or  profess  to  believe 
the  Christian  Religion.  The  nature  of  this  ordinance, 
I  shall  more  fully  explain  in  a  future  lecture  upon  that 
Sacrament  of  our  Church. 

The  appointment  of  sponsors,  sureties,  or,  as 
they  are  more  commonly  called  godfathers  and  god- 
mothers, in  addition  to  the  parents,  though  still  con- 
tinued, is  not  so  essentially  necessary  now  that  Ciifis- 
tianity  is  established  in  the  world,  as  it  was  in  its  early 
ages,  when  its  professors  were  not  so  numerous;  and 
it  was  therefore  necessary,  in  case  of  the  death  of 
Christian  parents,  to  obtain  at  the  baptism  the  obli- 
gation of  others^  to  instruct  and  bring  up  the  child  or 
children  baptized  in  the  principles  of  the  Christian 
Faith.  The  sponsors  promise,  in  the  name  of  the 
child,  three  things,  viz,  1st.  *'That  he  shall,"  as  far 
as  they  are  able  to  instruct  and  persuade  him,  "  re- 
nounce the  Devil  and  all  his  works,  the  pomps  and 
vanities  of  this  wicked  world,  and  all  the  sinful  lusts 
of  the  flesh;  2dly.     That  he  shall  believe  all  the  arti- 

*  Gen,  xvii.    v 


80  THE  CATECHISM. 

cles  of  tlie  Christian  Faith;  and  3dly.  That  he  shall 
keep  God's  holy  will  and  commandments,  and  walk 
in  the  same  all  the  days  of  his  life." 

The  great  privileges  secured  to  us  by  Baptism 
are,  that  we  are  thereby  made  members  of  Christ, 
children  of  Gk>d,  and,  if  we  perform  our  parts  of  the 
Gospel  Covenant  as  stated  above,  shall  be  inheritors 
of  the  kingdom  of  Heaven,  after  this  life,  our  present 
period  of  trial  and  discipline,  is  finished. 

Thej^r^^  promise  on  our  part  is,  that  we  will 
renounce  or  avoid  every  thing  that  is  sinful;  which  is 
meant  by  renouncing  the  Devil,  the  World,  and  the 
Flesh;  because  the  Devil,  our  great  spiritual  enemy, 
the  follies,  the  vices  and  vanities  of  the  World,  and 
the  lusts  of  the  Flesh,  or  our  evil  and  turbulent  pas- 
sions, are  the  three  great  sources  of  temptation  and  of 
sin — the  tempters  who  lead  us  into  all  kinds  of  wick- 
edness. 

The  second  promise  is,  that  we  shall  believe  all 
the  articles  of  the  Christian  Faith  which  are  contained 
in  that  excellent  summary  called  the  Apostles'  Creed, 
which  I  shall  now  proceed  to  explain  to  you. 

The  third  and  last  promise  is,  that  we  shall 
keep  God's  holy  will  and  commandments ^  and  walk  in 
the  same  all  the  days  of  our  life.  These  I  shall  also 
explain  to  you  in  some  future  lectures. 


THE  C\TECiiISM.  81 

The  first  article,  then,of  our  Creed,  or  profession 
of  Christian  Faith  is,  '^  I  believe  in  God,  the  Father 
Almighty,  Maker  of  Heaven  and  Earths 

To  believe  that  there  is  a  God,  or  first  cause,  and 
Creator  of  all  things,  is  to  believe  the  existence  of 
that  invisible,  eternal,  unchangeable,  and  incompre- 
hensible Spirit,  who  is  infinite  in  knowledge,  wisdom, 
justice,  mercy,  and  power;  who  formed  and  supports 
the  Universe;  and  who  hath  declared  unto  us,  by  his 
revelations,  to  Moses  and  the  Prophets  under  the  old 
Dispensation,  and  by  his  son  Jesus  Christ  under  the 
new,  what  is  his  nature,  and  what  are  the  duties  he 
requires  us  to  perform,  in  order  to  be  admitted  to 
the  enjoyment  of  eternal  happiness  hereafter.  The 
existence  of  such  a  Being,  an  Almighty  God,  is  to 
be  proved  by  a  variety  of  arguments.  First,  from  the 
creation  of  the  world,  which  must  have  been  produ- 
ced  either  by  design  or  chance. 

All  works  of  design  discover  a  relation  or  agree- 
ment  of  parts,  in  order  to  produce  an  end.  In  Avorks 
of  chance,  the  appearance  is  just  the  reverse.  When 
we  see  stones  laid  in  the  form  of  a  regular  building, 
we  immediately  say,  they  were  put  together  by  de- 
sign :  but  when  we  see  them  thrown  in  a  disorderly 
heap,  we  say,  as  confidently,  they  have  been  thrown 
so  by  chance. 


82  LECTURES  ON 

Noiv,  in  the  world  and  all  its  appendages,  there 
is  plainly  this  appearance  of  design.  One  part  relates 
to  another,  and  the  whole  together  produces  an  end. 

The  sun,  for  instance,  is  connected  with  the 
earth,  which  it  illuminates  with  its  rays,  thereby  en- 
abling the  inhabitants  to  discern  the  various  beauties 
of  creation,  and  the  rich  provision  made  for  their  sup- 
port; while  it  warms  the  soil  with  such  a  degree  of 
heat  as  to  produce  and  cherish  a  profusion  of  vege- 
tables, and  mature  a  variety  of  fruits  for  their  gratifi- 
cation; at  the  same  time,  attracting  from  the  waters 
such  a  portion,  as,  when  collected  into  clouds,  de- 
scends to  the  earth  again,  thereby  furnishing  it  with 
rain  and  dew.  The  earth  is  also  connected  with  all 
the  vegetables,  which,  according  to  their  species,  are 
provided  with  proper  soils  and  juices  for  their  nourish- 
ment; these  again  are  connected  with  animals,  which 
they  supply  with  a  variety  of  food  suited  to  their  dif- 
ferent natures:  while  the  minerals  and  stones  which 
are  scattered  upon  its  surface,  or  buried  beneath  it, 
supply  mankind  with  innumerable  implements  for 
use,  and  ornaments  for  decoration.  The  whole 
producing  the  great  end  of  sustaining  the  lives  of  in- 
numerable creatures,  and  promoting  their  comforta- 
ble acconmiodation. 


THE  r\TECHrSM  83 

Nor  is  design  shown  only  in  the  grand  fabric 
of  the  world,  and  all  its  relative  appendages.  It  is 
equally  shown  in  every  part.  It  is  seen  in  every 
animal,  adapted  in  all  its  peculiarities  to  its  proper 
mode  of  life.  It  is  seen  in  every  vegetable,  furnish- 
ed with  parts  exactly  suited  to  its  situation,  growth, 
and  nourishment.  In  the  least  as  well  as  in  the  great- 
est of  Nature's  productions,  it  is  every  where  evident. 
If  then,  the  w  orld  and  every  part  of  it  be  thus  mark- 
ed with  the  characters  o^  design,  there  ean  be  no  dif- 
ficulty in  acknowledging  the  Author  of  such  design, 
of  such  amazing  contrivance  and  variety,  to  be  a  Be- 
ing of  infinite  wisdom  and  power. 

Secondly.  If  chance  could  be  supposed  to  pro- 
duce so  regular  and  connected  a  work,  yet  it  certainly 
cannot  be  supposed  that  it  could  continue  this  regu- 
larity for  any  time;  but  we  find,  that  near  six  thousand 
years  have  made  no  change  in  the  order  and  harmony 
of  the  world.  The  sun's  action  upon  the  earth  is 
still  the  same  that  it  ever  has  been  since  the  creation 
of  the  world — ^the  production  of  trees,  plants,  and 
herbs  has  likewise  been  the  same.  Every  seed  pro- 
duces  now  the  same  fruit  it  ever  did.  Every  spe- 
cies of  animal  life  is  still  the  same.  Could  chance  con- 
tinue this  regular  arrangement?  Could  any  thing 
form  and  continue  it  but  the  hand  of  an  omnipotent 
God? 


84  LECTURES  ON 

Thirdly.  The  existence  of  a  God  is  also  proved 
by  the  general  consent  of  mankind.  It  is  now  well 
ascertained,  by  the  accounts  of  travellers,  that  no  na- 
tion hath  yet  been  discovered,  among  whom  the 
belief  in  a  great  first  cause,  and  some  traces  of  religi- 
ous ^vorship  have  not  been  found. 

Such  are  the  principal  proofs  of  the  being  of  a 
God,  drawn  from  the  light  of  N  a  t  u  r  e  .  But,  for  just 
ideas  of  the  Deity,  his  attributes,  and  operations, 
we  must  have  recourse  to  Revelation,  The  Holy 
Scriptures  alone  dispel  the  clouds  of  ignorance,  and 
unveil  the  divine  Majesty,  as  far  as  it  can,  or  ought 
to  be,  the  object  of  human  contemplation.  There 
we  are  informed  of  the  omniscience  and  omnipresence 
of  God.  There  we  learn  that  his  wisdom  and  power 
are  equalled  by  his  goodness;  and  that  his  mercy  is 
over  all  his  works.  In  short  we  learn  from  Reve- 
lation, that  we  are  in  the  hands  of  a  Being,  whose 
knowledge  and  observance  we  cannot  escape,  and 
whose  power  we  cannot  resist;  who  is  merciful  and 
good  to  all  his  creatures,  and  will  be  ever  ready  to 
assist  and  reward  those  who  conform  to  his  will;  but 
whose  justice,  at  the  same  time,  accompanying  his 
mercy,  will  punish  the  bold  and  careless  sinner,  in 
proportion  to  his  guilt. 


THE  CATECHISM.  85 

This  great  First  Cause,  in  the  Revelations  of 
himself  to  man,  in  the  early  ages  of  the  world — to 
Adam,  to  Abraham,  to  Moses,  and  the  Prophets, 
vouchsafed  to  make  himself  known  only  as  the  Crea- 
tor and  Governor  of  the  Universe,  without  any  par- 
ticular designation  of  his  Nature.  In  process  of 
time,  when  he  thought  proper  to  give  clearer  intima- 
tions of  himself,  of  our  duties  to  him,  and  of  our  ex- 
istence in  a  future  state,  our  divine  Instructor  and 
Redeemer  Jesus  Christ,  his  only  begotten  Son,  in- 
formed us  more  particularly  of  his  nature,  and  ena- 
bled us  by  his  communications  to  consider  him  as 
consisting  of  three  persons,  in  one  divine  essence  or 
nature:  viz.  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost, 

Such  is  the  doctrine  of  our  Church,  founded,  as 
we  believe,  upon  the  clear  and  immutable  principles 
of  Holy  Writ. 

Under  the  first  of  these  persons,  viz.  as  God  the 
Father y  I  have  now  considered  him:  and  shall,  in  my 
next  address  to  you,  offer  some  observations  upon  the 
second  character  in  the  Holy  Trinity,  the  declarations 
concerning  whom  are  expressed  by  our  Creed  in  its 
second  article. 

May  God  impress  upon  your  minds  the  senti- 
ments now  delivered,  and  so  '^dispose  your  hearts  and 


86  LECTURES  ON 

minds  towarcjs  the  attainment  of  eternal  salvation,  that 
amid  all  the  changes  of  this  mortal  life,  you  may  ever 
be  defended  by  his  most  gracious  and  ready  help, 
through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord,"     Amen. 


LECTURE    IIL 


ON    THE    SECOND    ARTICLE    OF    THE    CREED. 

My  remarks  upon  the  Second  Article  of  the  creed 
will  now  be  offered  to  your  attention,  and  will  relate 
principally  to  the  person  and  character  of  our  blessed 
Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  the  second  person  in 
the  adorable  Trinity  of  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost; 
three  persons,  but  one  God,  the  God  whom  we  pro- 
fess to  worship. 

"  I  believe  in  God  the  Father  Almighty,  Maker 
of  Heaven  and  earth:  and,  in  Jesus  Christ  his  only  Son 
our  Lord,"*^ 

A  belief  in  God  alone,  as  the  Creator  or  First 
Cause  of  all  things  which  e  xist,  is  induced  by  the 
light,  or  dictates  of  unassisted  reason — Hence  among 
all  nations,  however  rude  or  uncivilized,  the  belief  in 
and  worship  of  a  Being  superior  to  man,  the  author 
?nd  governor  of  the  world,  has  been  found  to  obtain. 


88  LECTURES  ON 

In  what  IS  called  a  state  of  nature,  in  those  early 
ages  and  nations  to  which  no  particular  revelation  of 
the  divine  will  was  delivered,  God  spake  to  man  by 
the  works  of  Creation,  and  the  dictates  of  Conscience, 
that  principle  implanted  in  the  human  breast,  which  is 
ever  watchful  over  our  thoughts,  words,  and  actions; 
approves  of  such  as  are  good  or  virtuous,  and  disap- 
proves of  those  which  are  wicked. 

In  the  works  of  Creation,  **  the  Heavens  declared 
the  glory  of  God,  and  the  Firmament  showed  his  han- 
dy work."*  **  And  therefore,"  said  one  of  the  wi- 
sestand  most  celebrated  of  the  Heathen  writersf  *'no 
nation  or  people  can  be  so  barbarous,  or  dull  of  ap- 
prehension, as  not  to  perceive  when  they  look  up  to 
the  Heavens,  and  around  them  upon  the  beautiful, 
regular,  and  useful  operations  of  nature,  that  there  is 
a  God."  In  this  manner  did  God  speak  to  the  Hea- 
then. But  he  hath  since  spoken  to  man  in  terms  more 
express  and  positive  than  by  the  conclusions  of  rea- 
son— He  made  partial  declarations  of  himself  to  the 
Patriarchs  and  Prophets  of  old;  and  we  find  from  his- 
tory, and  particularly  from  that  of  the  Holy  Scriptures 
that  wickedness  and  irreligion  have  always  been  pun- 

*  Psalms,  xix.  i.  f  Cicero. 


THE  CATECHISM.  39 

ished  by  him — by  the  deluge,  by  the  rejection  and 
dispersion  of  the  Jews,  and  by  many  other  signal  in- 
stances of  divine  displeasure. 

"  Whatsoever  things  were  written,"  or  done, 
*'  aforetime,'*  says  an  holy  Apostle,  "  were  written,'* 
or  done,  "for  our  learning,"*  our  example,  our  warn- 
ing. If  God  therefore  spared  not  those  who,,  un- 
der so  imperfect  and  faint  a  knowledge  of  his  nature 
and  attributes,  committed  iniquity  and  disregarded 
him,  "  how  shall  we  escape,  if  we  neglect  or  disregard 
the  great  salvationf"  offered  to  us  by  the  Gospel  of 
Jesus  Christ,  who  descended  from  Heaven  clearly  to 
explain  to  mankind  the  perfect  nature  of  God,  and 
the  means  of  obtaining  his  favour,  and  thereby  of  ob- 
taining perfect  happiness?  With  evident  truth  and 
propriety  may  we  pursue  the  Apostle's  mode  of  ar- 
guing with  his  christian  converts:  "  If  God  spared 
not  the  natural  branches,  take  heed,  lest  he  also  spare 
not  thee.  "J  (i.  e.)  If  the  Heathen  and  Jews  have  been 
punished  with  severity  for  their  disobedience  to  the 
laws  which  were  given  to  them;  let  us  Gentiles  be- 
ware, lest  for  the  same  crime  we  also  experience  the 
displeasure  of  God,  according  to  the  declarations  of 

*  Rom.  XV.  4,  t  Hcb.  ii.  3.  \  Rom.  xi.  21. 

M 


90  LECTURES  ON 

his  Gospel:   and  it  every  where  declares,  that  with- 
out faith  in  his  revelations  and  sincere  endeavours  af- 
ter virtue  and  holiness,  we  cannot  after  this  life,  which 
is  evidently  a  state  of  trial,  be  admitted  into  the  king- 
dom of  God,  notwithstanding  the  sacrifice   made  by 
Christ's  death;  but  shall  after  death  be  justly  banished 
to  the  regions  of  misery  and  despair,  there  to  receive 
the  bitter  fruits  of  our  disobedience  and  hardness  of 
heart.     For  the  Gospel,  or  last  revelation  of  God  to 
man,  teaches,  that  although  Christ  has  put  it  in  our 
power  to  obtain  future  happiness,  if  we  will  fulfil  the 
conditions  of  believing  in  him,  and  faithfully  obeying 
his  commands,  yet,  if  we  neglect  to  comply  with  the 
conditions,  we  cannot  share  the  benefits  of  his  death 
and  passion:  for  it  is  the  uniform  and  invariable  law 
of  God,  that  "  without  holiness  no  man  shall  see  the 
Lord."*  The  Gospel,  or  instruction  of  Jesus  Christ, 
sets  before  us  life  and  death,  points  out  the  infallible 
means  of  securing  happiness  and  avoiding  misery  af- 
ter death,  and,  by  animating  promises,  as  well  as  by 
awful  threatenings,  urges  us  to   refuse  the  evil  and 
choose  the  good.    Throughout  the  scriptures,  human 
beings  are  considered  as  free  agents,  accountable  for 

*  Heb,  xii.  14 


THE   C;ATF.CHISM 


?^ 


their  actions  in  proportion  to  the  degree  of  ligHt  and 
knowledge  vouchsafed:  and  we  ought  constantly  to 
remember,  and  seriously  to  consider,  that  our  bles- 
sed Redeemer  in  all  his  discourses  and  parables,  repre- 
sents our  present  condition  under  the  character  of 
stewards  and  servants;  that  to  every  one  talents  are 
given  to  be  improved,  and  that  we  shall  hereafter  be 
rewarded  or  punished,  according  as  we  have  atten- 
ded to  or  neglected  them.  Certainly  then  the  cha- 
racter of  this  great  and  benevolent  instructor  should 
earnestly  be  inquired  into,  and  rightly  understood  by 
us. 

We  are  taught  by  the  Christian  religion  to  be- 
lieve in /*  Jesus  Christ  the  only  son  of  God,  our 
Lord." 

He  is  thus  represented  to  us  under  a  threefold 
description,  1st.  by  his  nomination  as  Jesus  Christy 
2dly.  by  his  generation  as  the  Son  of  God,  and  3dly, 
by  his  dominion  as  our  Lord, 

The  name  Jesus  signifies  a  Saviour,  or  deliver- 
er; and  Christ  answering  to  the  Hebrew  word  Messi- 
ah, signifies  anointed  or  appointed,  which  names 
designate  his  personal  character,  with  respect  to  us: 
that  to  him  alone  the  character  of  a  spiritual  Saviour 
and  a  moral  deliverer  belongs;  for  it  is  he  alone  who 
can  save  or  deliver  us  from  the  punishment  due  to  ou: 


92  LECTURES  ON 

ans;  "hath  purchased"  the  possibility  of"  eternal  re- 
demption and  salvation  for  us;"*  and  it  is  he  who  will 
"  appear  a  second  time"t  ^o  be  our  Judge.  We  are 
therefore,  called  upon  to  profess  and  declare,  that 
there  is  "  no  other  name  or  character  given  unto  men 
through  whom  we  can  be  saved,  but  that  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.^t 

We  are  next  taught  by  the  Creed  to  acknow- 
ledge his  relationship  to  God,  as  being  hisonly  Son: — 
**  And  in  Jesus  Christ  his  (i.  e.  God's)  only  Son,'^ 

This  relationship  to  God  the  Father  Almighty,  is 
expressly  declared  in  many  passages  of  the  Holy 
Scripture.  St.  John  tells  us  that  "  in  the  beginning 
was  the  word,  (or  Son,)  who  was  with  God  and  was 
God.  "II  That  "  he  is  over  all,  God  blessed  for  ever- 
more."y  And  Christ  himself  told  the  Jews  ''I  came 
forth  from  God."^  ''I  and  my  Father  are  one."** 

At  the  time  of  his  baptism  by  John,  a  voice  from 
Heaven  declared  **  This  is  my  beloved  Son  in  whom 
I  am  well  pleased." ft  And  in  his  prayer  before 
his  passion  he  uttered  these  words,  "  I  have  fin- 
ished the  work  which  thou  gavest  me  to  do: 
and  now  O  Father,  glorify  thou  me  with  the 
glory  which  I  had  with  thee  before  the  Morld  was."  %% 

*  Ileb.  ix.   12.         t  Heb.  ix.  28.         \  Acts,  iv   12. 
[|  Jolm  i.    1,2,  3.     §  Rom.  ix,   5.  "!!   John.  xvi.  28, 

♦*  John.  X.  20.         ft   Mat.i,    17.  \\  John.  xvii.    5 


THE  CATECHISM.  93 

And  therefore,  when  we  declare  our  belief  in  his  Son- 
ship,  we  mean  that  he  is  in  such  sense  the  only  Son 
of  God  as  no  created  being  can  possibly  be:  namely, 
by  having  been  eternally  with  the  Father.  He  is  in- 
deed called  the  Son  of  God  on  other  accounts  in  Holy 
Writ,  as  having  been  conceived  in  a  miraculous  man- 
ner by  the  Holy  Ghost  v/ho  is  God,  and  having  no 
earthly  father;  as  having  been  appointed  to  the  special 
office  of  the  Messiah;  as  having  been  *^  declared  to 
be  the  Son  of  God  with  power"*  by  his  resurrection 
from  the  dead;  and  as  being  appointed  by  the  Father 
heir  of  all  things,  "f  But  he  is  most  properly  and 
eminently  styled  the  Son  of  God,  as  having  been 
['  in  the  bosom  of  the  Father^f  from  the  beginning; 
as  being  according  to  St.  Paul  '*the  brightness 
of  his  Father's  glory,  and  the  express  image  of 
his  person, "§  and  having  in  him  *^  all  the  fulness  of 
the  Godhead,  bodily. "||  Hence  we  are  also  bound  to 
him  as  our  Lord.  Such  he  is  towards  us  as  creatures, 
we  as  well  as  all  other  being  subject  to  his  dominion 
and  authority.  But  he  is  more  particularly  our  Lord 
as  Christians;  being  the  author  of  our  religion,  and  the 
mediator  between  God  and  us.     We  are  also  dedica- 

*  Rom.  i.  4.  t  Heb.  i.  2.  \  John,  i.    18. 

§  Heb.  i.  3.  [!  Col.  ii.  9. 


94  '  LECTURES  ON 

ted  to  him  by  Baptism,  and  are  in  a  peculiar  manner 
his  subjects,  who  is  **  the  head  over  all  things  to  the 
Church;"*  God  the  Father  having  ''  highly  exalted 
him  and  given  him  aname  which  is  above  every  name; 
that  at  the  name  of  Jesus  every  knee  should  bow,  of 
things  in  Heaven,  and  things  in  earth,  and  things  un- 
der the  earth;  and  that  every  tongue  should  confess  that 
Jesus  Christ  is  Lord  to  the  glory  of  God  the  Fa- 
theT.^t 

Such  being  the  offices  and  relation  of  Jesus  Christ 
to  us,  how  thankful  should  we  be  for  so  inestimable 
a  blessing  conferred  upon  us  as  his  mediation — how 
anxious  should  we  be  to  obtain  his  favour — and  how 
diligent  in  obeying  his  precepts! 

Be  persuaded,  my  young  friends,  to  attend  seri- 
ously to  religion  and  its  duties  now,  before  the  vari- 
ous snares  and  temptations  of  the  world  have  had  an 
opportunity  of  corrupting  your  minds.  Dedicate 
your  early  years  to  the  service  of  your  God  and  Sa- 
viour; by  reading  his  Holy  Word-— by  fervently  pray- 
ingfor  divine  grace  and  protection— and  by  a  frequent 
and  grateful  recollection  of  the  great  and  glorious  be- 
nefits which  are  offered  to  you.  O  ''  Remember, 
adore  and  obey  your  Creator  in  the  days  of  your  youth, 

*   Kph.   i.   22.  t   Phil.  ii.  9.    10.    11. 


THE  CATECHISM.  95 

before  the  evil  days^come,  and  the  years  draw  nigh 
in  which  ye  will  say,  ye  have  no  pleasure  in  them."* 
Thus  will  ye  enter  upon  the  business  of  human  life, 
under  the  peculiar  protection  and  favour  of  your  Hea- 
venly Father;  thus  will  ye  be  prepared  to  meet  its  va- 
rious evils,  as  becometh  Christians;  thus  will  ye  rise 
superior  to  all  its  dangers  and  deceitful  charms;  thus 
will  ye  be  enabled  to  endure  its  afflictions  with  compo- 
sure and  pious  resignation,  knowing  them  to  be  wisely 
and  mercifully  sent  for  your  spiritual  improvement 
and  benefit;  and  thus  will  ye  be  prepared,  when  the 
short  period  of  human  life  is  over,  to  give  an  account 
of  your  stewardship  with  joy,  to  your  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  who  will  then  be  your  Judge,  and  will  re^vard 
or  punish  you  according  as  you  have  obeyed  or  disre= 
garded  his  precepts. 

Be  encouraged  by  the  animating  promises  given 
in  the  Word  of  God  to  those  who  seek  the  Lord  at  an 
early  period  of  life.  Consider  that  you  may  die  du- 
ring that  period;  and  that,  though  young,  you  will  be 
called  to  answer  at  the  bar  of  God  for  your  improve- 
ment or  abuse  of  that  inestimable  talent.  Time.  Let 
the  caution  of  Solomon,  the  wisest  of  men,  against  the 
follies,  the  levities,  and  vices,  to  which  the  young  and 

*  Eccl.  xii.  1.         t  Ecdesiastes   11    9. 


96  LECTURES  ON 

inconsiderate  are  generally  prone,  be  deeply  impres- 
sed upon  your  memory.  "  Rejoice  ,  O  young  man, 
in  thy  youth,  and  let  thy  heart  cheer  thee  in  the  days 
of  thy  youth,  and  walk  in  the  ways  of  thine  heart,  and 
in  the  sight  of  thine  eyes:  but  know  thou,  thixtjbr  all 
these  things  God  will  bring  thee  into  judgment ^^ 
'  Remember,  therefore  the  endy  and  thou  shalt  ne- 
ver do  amiss.'' 

That  you  may  be  enabled  diligently  to  perform 
your  duty  while  you  have  opportunity,  may 
^*  The  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  the  love  of 
God,  and  the  fellowship  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  be  with 
you  all.  Amen." 

*  Ecclesiastes  xi.  9         f  Ecclesiasticus.  vii.  36. 


LECTURE  IV. 


ON  THE  SECOND  ARTICLE  OF  THE  CSBED. 

Having  in  my  last  Lecture,  which  was  upon  the 
Second  Article  of  tlie  Creed,  namely,  "  And  in  Jesus 
Christ  his  only  Son  our  Lord,"  considered  the  name 
and  character  of  our  blessed  Redeemer,  his  relation 
to  the  Father  and  to  us,  his  Divinity  and  Dominion;  I 
proceed  now  to  repeat  and  explain  the  several  parti- 
culars of  what  he  did  and  suffered,  what  he  continues 
to  do  still,  and  will  finally  do  "  for  us  men  and  for  our 
salvation." 

This  Article  continues  to  designate  his  charac- 
ter, by  saying,  "  Who  was  conceived  by  the  Holy 
Ghost,  bom  of  the  Virgin  Mary." 

That  this  Eternal  Son  of  God  did  become  man 
is  affirmed,  among  other  authorities,  by  St.  John,  who 
says,  that  the  Word  or  Son  of  God,  who  came  down 
from  Heaven  "  was  made  flesh  and  dwelt  among  us"* 
—by  St.  Paul,  who  declares  that,  "  God  was  man- 
ifested in  the  flesh"! — and  by  the  same  author  to  the 

*Johni.  14,  t  iTim.iii.  16. 

N 


98  LECTURES  ON 

Philippians,  who  says,  "  Who  being  in  the  form  of 
God  thought  it  not  robbery  to  be  equal  with  God,  yet 
made  himself  of  no  reputation,  and  took  upon  him  the 
form  of  a  servant,  and  was  made  in  the  likeness  of 
man."*  And  unto  the  Hebrews  he  says,  that  "  He 
was  in  all  things  made  like  unto  us  his  brethren,  "f 
And  this  is  what  is  meant  by  the  Incarnation  of  our 
Lord;  that  is,  his  appearance  in  this  world  in  the  ful- 
ness of  time  appointed  by  the  Father,  and  his  taking 
upon  him  human  nature,  by  his  assuming  and  uniting 
to  his  divine  nature  the  body  and  soul  of  a  man. 
That  Christ  had  a  human  soul,  as  well  as  body,  is  evi- 
dently declared  by  St.  Luke:  J  and  it  is  a  doctrine 
which  was  maintained  by  all  the  Fathers. 

And  as  we  here  derlare  our  belief  of  his  Incar- 
nation in  general,  so  likewise  particularly  of  the  man- 
ner of  his  assuming  our  nature,  which  was  miraculous. 
God  the  Holy  Ghost  (according  to  the  declaration  of 
the  inspired  writers^),  the  Power  of  the  Highest,  over- 
shadowing the  Virgin  Mary,  his  mother,  she  conceiv- 
ed, in  a  miraculous  manner,  and  brought  forth  a  Son, 
who  having  been  from  the  beginning  God  of  God, 
and  being  now  born  of  a  woman,  is  therefore  called 
"  Emmanuel,  which  being  interpreted  is  God  with 
us.'^ll 

»  Phil.  ii.  6.  7.  t  Heb.  ii.  17.  %  Luke.  ii.  52. 

§  Luke  i.  35.  and  Matt.  i.  18,  ||  Matt.i.  23. 

compared  with  Isaiah  vii.  14. 


THE  CATECHISM.  99 

By  his  being  born  of  a  virgin,  several  ancient 
prophecies  made  to  the  Jews  concerning  their  Messiah 
were  fulfilled  in  him;  and  by  his  being  born  of  the 
Virgin  Mary  in  particular,  many  others  were  likewise 
accomplished,  which  declared,  that  the  Messiah  must 
be  of  the  seed  of  Abraham,  and,  of  the  house  and 
lineage  of  David.*  And  in  this  article  we  therefore 
declare  our  belief  that  our  blessed  Lord  was  born  in 
such  manner  and  of  such  a  person  as  the  Spirit  of 
God  long  since  foretold  of  him,  and  that  therefore  he  ■ 
appeared  by  all  these  particulars  to  be  the  Saviour 
who  was  appointed  by  the  determinate  counsel  and 
foreknowledge  of  God,  to  be  *'  a  light  to  lighten  the 
Gentiles,  and  to  be  the  glory  of  his  people  Israel,  "f 
— And  from  our  belief  of  his  having  fulfilled  the 
prophecies  in  his  wonderful  conception  and  birth,  and 
in  the  person  of  his  blessed  mother,  upon  his  entrance 
into  the  w^orld,  we  next  proceed  to  show,  that  he  did 
likewise  as  actually  fulfil  those  which  related  to  the 
manner  in  which,  as  man^  he  should  finally  leave  it. 
For  he  "  Suffered  under  Pontius  Pilate,  was  cruci- 
fied, dead  and  buried,  he  descended  into  Hell." 

''The  spirit   of  Christianity,"  says  St.  Peter, 
"  which  was  in  the  prophets  did  testify,  beforehand, 

*  Liikc  ii.  4.  t  Luke  ii.  32. 


roo  LECTURES  ON 

the  sufferings  of  Christ  and  the  glory  that  should  fol- 
low,"* And  those  things  which  were  so  long  fore- 
told, were  in  him  fully  accomplished.  — He  was,  ac- 
cording to  the  prophet  Isaiah,  to  be  **  a  man  of  sor- 
rows and  acquainted  with  grief,  "f  And  in  proof  of 
it  his  whole  state  of  humiliation,  from  his  birth  to  his 
death,  was  but  one  continued  scene  of  suffering." — 
He  was,  indeed,  **  despised  and  rejected  of  men. "J 
And  when  what  is  here  particularly  called  his  suffer- 
ing,  and  by  divines  generally  his  passion,  began,  ne- 
ver was  any  sorrow  like  unto  his  sorrow.  He  under- 
went agonizing  pains  in  the  garden  of  Gethsemane,§ 
he  was  betrayed  by  one||  and  forsaken  by  all  his  dis- 
ciples,ir  was  falsely  accused  by  the  Jews,  and  insult- 
ed, mocked,  buffetted,  and  spit  upon  by  the  common 
soldiers^*  was  condemned,  though  innocent,  by  his 
selfcondemnedjudge,tt  and,  after  the  most  bitter  pains 
of  body  and  anguish  of  soul,  expired  on  the  Cross.  Jf 
Thus  did  the  blessed  Jesus  most  eminently  suffer. 
He  was  crucified  when  Pontius  Pilate  was  governour 
of  Judea  under  the  Romans,  and  exactly  at  that  time, 
and  under  such  a  governour,  as  several  prophecies 
had  predicted. — Daniel's  Prophecy  of  seventy  weeks, 

*  1  Pet.  i.  11.  t  Isaiah  liii.  3.        t  Isaiah  liii.  3. 

§  Luke  xxii.  44.  ||  Luke  xxii.  47.  t  Mark  xiv.  50. 

**Markxxv.  18.19.20.  ft   Mark  xv.  \S.\\  Matt.xxviL  50. 


THE  CATECHISM.  101 

or  four  hundred  and  ninety  years,  to  the  death  of  the 
Messiah,  was,  by  this  means,  punctually  accomplish- 
ed.*— And  by  our  Lord's  suffering  under  a  Roman 
govemour  was  verified  his  own  prophecy,  that  he 
should  be  '*  delivered  to  the  Gentiles  to  mock,  and  to 
scourge,  and  to  crucify  him."t  The  manner  of  his 
suffering,  by  being  crucified^  is  also  added  to  show, 
that  in  him  was  accomplished  what  the  prophets  had 
typified  and  foretold,  both  of  the  painfulness  and  ig- 
nominy of  his  death.  By  being  crucified,  the  son  of 
man  was  lifted  up,  as  the  serpent  in  the  wilderness 
had  been  lifted  up  by  Moses;  upon  which,  whosoever 
steadfastly  looked,  was  healed  of  the  stings  of  the 
fiery  flying  serpents,f  this  brazen  serpent  being  a  type 
or  figure  of  Clirist.  By  being  crucified,  he  suffered 
the  punishment  of  a  common  malefactor,  and  **  was 
numbered  with  the  transgressors,  "^  and  ''  gave  his 
life  a  ransom  for  many."||  He  was  also  "  buried," 
and  in  such  a  manner  as  to  fulfil  Isaiah's  prophecy  of 
him  in  this  particular — for  "  he  made  his  grave  with 
the  wicked  and  with  the  rich  in  his  death.  "^  With 
the  wicked,  in  dying  as  a  common  malefactor,  and 
with  the  rich,  in  that  "  Joseph  a  rich  man  of  Arim- 
athea,  begged  his  body  of  Pilate,  and  having  wrapped 

*  Dan.  ix.  24.  25.  f  Luke  xviii.  32.  35.         \  John  iii.  U. 

§  Isaiah  liii.  12.  Mark  xv.  28.  ||  Matt.  xx.  28.  ^  Isaiah  liii.  9. 


102  LECTURES  ON 

it  in  linen  cloths  and  spices,  as  the  manner  of  the  Jews 
was  to  bury,  he  laid  it  in  a  new  sepulchre  wherein  ne- 
ver man  was  laid."* 

The  next  assertion  in  this  article  is,  that,  "  he 
descended  into  Hell."  The  original  Greek  word, 
Hades,  here  translated  Hell,  signifies  the  place  or  hab- 
itation of  departed  spirits.  As  our  blessed  Lord  was 
actually  dead  and  buried,  so  he  continued  some  time 
in  that  state,  his  body  being  laid  and  remaining  in 
the  sepulchre,  and  his  soul  being  all  that  time  separa- 
ted from  it,  and  continuing  in  the  same  state  as  those 
ofgood  men  probably  will,  during  the  time  of  their 
separation  from  the  body,  where  they  who  die  in  the 
Lord  rest  from  their  labours,  waiting  for  a  still  more 
perfect  happiness  at  the  resurrection  in  thelastday.f 

The  next  declaration  of  the  Creed  is,  ''  The 
third  day  he  rose  from  the  dead."  The  certainty 
of  this  event  cannot  be  doubted,  if  the  witnesses  to 
it  be  impartially  heard.  The  necessity  and  impor- 
tance of  his  rising,  are  most  evident,  because  the 
truth  of  his  whole  Revelation  depended  upon  it;  and, 
therefore,  says  St.  Paul,  *'  if  Christ  be  not  risen,  then 
is  our  preaching  vain,  and  your  faith  is  also  vain."f 

♦Luke  xxiii.  53.      f  Rev.  xiv.  13.  t  1  Cor.  xv.   14. 


THE  CATECHISM.  1Q3 

But  the  Holy  Scriptures  are  incontestably  clear  upon 
this  head.* 

As  Christ  rose  from  the  dead,  so  he  "  ascen- 
ded into  Heaven,  and  sitteth  on  the  right  hand  of 
God  the  Father,  from  whence  he  shall  come  to  judge 
the  quick  and  the  dead." — That  is,  he  shall  come 
from  the  place  where  he  has  been  so  long  hidden 
from  our  eyes,  and  shall  appear  in  the  sight  and  pre- 
sence of  men  and  angels;  and  shall  call  all  persons  into 
judgment  who  ever  have  lived  in  the  world,  not  only 
the  quick,  that  is,  those  who  shall  be  then  alive,  but  all 
those  likewise  who  have  lived  and  died  in  all  past  ages, 
from  the  creation  to  that  time.f 

The  solemnity  of  that  day  will  indeed  be  very 
great  and  terrible;  for  the  heavens  shall  pass  away  with 
a  great  noise,  and  the  elements  shall  melt  with  fervent 
heat — and  the  Lord  Jesus  shall  be  revealed  from  Hea- 
ven with  his  mighty  Angels — and  before  him  shall 
be  gathered  all  nations  and  all  their  thoughts,  words, 
and  actions  brought  into  judgment,  by  which  they 
will  receive,  according  to  the  strictest  equity,  reward 
or  punishment  greater  than  we  can  possibly  con- 
ceive .J 

*  Mat.  xxviii.  Chap.  Mark.  xvi.  Chap.  Luke  xxiv.  Chap. 
John  XX.  Chap. 

t  Mat.  xvi  27.  John  v.  22.  27.  Sec. 

\  Mat.  xxiv.  31.  I  Cor.  xv.  52.  2  Pet.  iii.  7.  Mat.  xvi.  27. 
Rev.  i.  7.  Rom.  xiv.  10.  Rev.  xxii.  12. 


104  LECTURES  ON 

Oh!  then,  my  young  friends,  frequently  consider 
the  awful  certainty  of  this  event;  and  so  govern  your 
lives  by  the  precepts  and  example  of  your  blessed  and 
divine  teacher  Jesus  Christ,  that  you  may  die  in 
peace,  and  be  so  prepared  to  meet  him  in  the  day  of 
judgment,  that  he  may  receive  you  as  faithful  disci« 
pies  and  follovi^ers,  and  admit  you  into  his  heavenly 
kingdom. 

To  which  blessed  region  of  perfect  and  eternal 
felicity,  may  God  of  his  infinite  mercy  bring  us  all; 
through  the  atonement  and  intercession  of  his  Son, 
Jesus  Christ,  our  Lord  and  Saviour.     Amen, 


LECTURE  V. 


OJf   THE    THIRD    ARTICLE    OF   THE    CREED, 

I  AM  now  come,  in  the  regular  order  of  explana- 
tion,  to  the  third  portion  or  division  of  the  Creed, 
viz. 

**  I  believe  in  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  Holy  Catho- 
lic Church,  the  Communion  of  Saints,  the  Forgive- 
ness of  Sins,  the  Resurrection  of  the  Body,  and  the 
Life  everlasting.     Amen." 

Here  are  six  different  points  of  faith  declared, 
which  I  shall,  in  this  Lecture,  endeavour  briefly  to 
explain  to  you.  First  then,  '*  I  believe  in  the  Holy 
Ghost."  The  former  articles  having  expressed  the 
belief  of  Christians  concerning  the  first  and  second 
persons  of  the  adorable  Trinity,  God  the  Father,  and 
God  the  Son,  we  are  now  to  profess  our  belief  in  the 
thb'd^  viz,  in  God  the  Holy  Ghost, 


106  LECTURES  ON 

The  Holy  Scriptures  instruct  us  with  respect  ta 
his  Divinity,  his  Personality,  and  his  Operation — As 
to  his  Divinity,  he  is  said  to  be,  both  in  the  Old  and 
New  Testaments,  one  and  the  same  with  God  and 
Jehovah* — When  Ananias  lied  to  him,  he  is  said  to 
"  lie  unto  God"t — Our  Saviour  assures  us  that 
*'  there  is  a  sin  against  the  Holy  Ghost  which  shall 
not  be  forgiven,  neither  in  this  world,  nor  in  the  world 
to  come, "J  and  we  are  baptised  by  command  of 
Christ  in  the  name  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  as  well  as  of 
the  Father  and  the  Son.  The  incommunicable  attri- 
butes of  the  Godhead  are  also  expressly  ascribed  to 
him.  He  is  called  "  The  Eternal  Spirit" § — 
**  The  Holy  Spirit.  "||  By  his  Omniscience  and  Omni- 
presence "he  searcheth  all  things. "T[  And  his  Om- 
nipotence may  be  clearly  inferred  from  the  miraculous? 
powers  which  are  said  to  be  bestowed  by  him.  He 
is,  therefore,  very  God;  and  our  church  calls  upon 
Vis,  as  Christians,  so  to  profess  our  belief  in  him. 

*  Acts  V.  3.  4.  Compare  1  Cor.  vi.  19.  with  1  Cor.  iii.  16. 
17.  and  2.  Cor.  vi.  16.  See  Luke  i  35.  2  Sam.  xxiii.  2.  3.  Com- 
pare, also,  Exod.  xxxiv.  34.  with  2  Cor.  iii  17.  and  Isaiah  vi.  9. 
with  Acts  xxviii.  25. 

t  Acts  V.  3.  4.  I  Mat.  xii.  32.  §  Heb.  ix.  14. 

!!  Luke  xi.  13.  t    1   Cor.  ii.  20. 


rin:  catkcmism.  .v: 

That  the  Holy  Ghost  is  likewise  a  distinct  per- 
son from  the  Father  and  the  Son  (not  an  attribute  or 
power  of  the  Father)  is  evident,  though  proceeding 
from  the  Father  and  the  Son.  The  New  Testament 
expressly  and  repeatedly  uses  the  word  he  concerning 
him,  which  is  never  used  in  that  manner  of  a  mere 
attribute  or  power.  It  ascribes  to  him  will  and.  su- 
preme understanding:  it  speaks  of  him  as  being  sent 
from  Heaven  as  our  spiritual  guide.  When  Christ 
was  about  to  leave  this  world,  he  told  his  disciples, 
"  I  will  not  leave  you  comfortless,  but  will  send  to 
you  anodier  comforter,  even  the  Holy  Ghost. "^  Nay, 
he  is  spoken  of  as  showing  himself  "  in  a  bodily 
shape — asadove."t 

His  extra6rdmarij  operations  have  been,  th/;  in- 
spiring  of  the  prophets  of  old;  his  enabling  the.  apos- 
ties  of  Christ  suddenly  to  speak  different  languages; 
his  guiding  them  into  all  the  truth,  and  bringing  ail 
things  to  their  remembrance;  and  his  enabling  them 
to  perform  signs  and  wonders,  and  divers  miracles, 
for  the  confirmation  of  the  truth  of  their  doctrines. 

His  ordinary  works,  or  operations,  are  those 
helps,  assistances,  and  comforts,  whereby  he  enables 
all  faithful  Christians,  in  the   present   and  all  ages  of 

*  Johnxiv.  16.  17.  18.  f  Mat  iii.  16. 


108  J5.C.ETURKS  ON 

the  Church,  to  do  their  duty  as  such,  and  gives  them 
joy  and  comfort  in  the  discharge  of  it:  this  is  ex- 
pressed in  the  Holy  Scripture  by  "  being  led  by  the 
Spirit,"*  and  having  **  our  infirmities  helped  by 
him"t — t)y  his  "  dwelling  in  us  as  his  temples,"J  and 
*'  strengthening  us  with  might  in  the  inner  man,"§ 
and  by  his  "  filling  us  with  all  joy  and  peace  in  be- 
lieving. "||  On  this  account  he  is  styled  the  Comforter, 
who  sanctifies  us  or  renders  us  (if  we  earnestly  pray 
and  desire  so  to  be)  holy;  and  these  his  ordinary  ope- 
rations are  called  our  Sanctification.  By  God  the 
Father  we  are  created;  By  God  the  Son  we  are  re- 
deemed, or  rendered  capable  of  the  favour  of  God; 
and  by  God  the  Holy  Ghost  we  are  sanctified  or  ren- 
dered holy,  and  consequently  worthy  of  that  favour. 
Hence  the  Holy  Ghost,  personally  distinct  from  the 
Father  and  the  Son,  is  "  with  the  Father  and  the  Son 
together  to  be  worshipped  and  glorified,"^  constitu- 
ting witli  them  the  True  God,  Jehovah.  Three  Per- 
sons, but  One  God,  Such  is  the  doctrine  of  our 
church  with  respect  to  the  name  and  nature  of  God. 
The  next  points  to  be  considered  are  the  "  Holy 
Catholic  Church,   and  the  communion  of  Saints." 

»  Ga'.  V.  18.  t  Rom.  viii.  26.  \  Cor.  vi.  19. 

^E'^h.  iih  16.  II  Rom.  xv.  1-3^  ?  Nic^ie  QfeK^« 


THE  CATECniSiM.  I09 

Jesus  Christ,  a  little  before  he  left  the  world  and  as- 
cended into  Heaven,  gave  a  commission  to  his  apos- 
tles (as  they  afterwards  did  to  their  successors)  to  go, 
teach,  and  make  disciples  to  his  doctrines  among  all 
nations.*  The  apostles  as  soon  as  they  had  received  the 
Holy  Ghost,  to  assist  them  with  miraculous  powers, 
immediately  put  their  commission  in  execution^  be- 
ginning, as  we  are  told  in  the  Acts  (or  history  of  the 
lives  of  the  Apostles)  at  Jerusalem;  where  they  made 
a  great  number  of  converts  to  the  true  faith.  These 
converts  joining  together  in  one  faith  and  worship,  and 
being  united  to  one  spiritual  head,  their  Heavenly 
King  and  Governor,  were,  therefore,  considered  as  one 
body,  and  called  the  Church  of  Christ,or  the  associa*- 
tion  of  persons  believing  in  his  divine  character  and 
doctrines.  This  Church  has  continued  from  the 
apostles'  days  to  our  own,  and  ever  will  continue  to 
the  end  of  the  world;  our  Lord  having  declared,  that 
the  powers  of  Hell  shall  never  so  prevail  against  it  as 
to  destroy  it.f  Blessed,  therefore,  are  they  who  are 
sincere  and  zealous  members  of  this  Church,  which 
is  called  holy^  because  Christ  requires  not  merely  a 
profession  or  verbal  declaration  of  faith  in  him,  but 
that  they  should  be  **  holy  in  all  manner  of  conversa- . 

*  Luke  xvi..  15.  16.  t  Mat.  xvi.  18. 


1  10  LIXTLKES  ON 

tion,"*  or  uniformly  guided  by  the  influence  and  di- 
rection of  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God,  whose  influence 
we  can  obtain  by  frequent  and  fervent  prayer.     And 
because  this  Church  or  association  of  beUevers  does 
not  consist  of  the  people  of  one  nation  only,  but  those 
of  all  nations,  and  in  all  ages,  since  our  Lord's  appear- 
ance,  therefore  this  Holy  Church  is  likewise  called 
Catholic  or  universal.     Hence  all  those  people  who 
believe  his  doctrine,  obey,  or  endeavour  to  obey,  liis 
precepts,  ar^d  receive  his  holy  Sacraments — all  those 
people  collectively  considered,  are  Christ's  holy  and 
catholic  or  universal  Church.    By  the  **  Communion 
of  Saints"  is  meant   the  fellowship  or  spiritual  con- 
nexion of  real  Christians.     This  expression  hath  an 
evident  relation  to  the  former,  in  which  we  profess 
to    believe   in  the   Holy   Catholic   Church;    which 
Church  is  therefore  holy,  because  those  persons  are 
such,  or  ought  to  be,  who  constitute  its  members;  to 
that  confession  is  added  this  communion,  which  is  in- 
tended to  be  explanatory  of  the  former.  St.  Paul  calls 
all  the  Christians  or  the  Church,  in  any  particular  place, 
the  Saints,  or  holy  persons  at  that  place:  thus  to  the 
Ephesians  he  directs  his  Epistles,  "to  the  Saintswhich 
are  at  Ephesus;"t  andthat  to  the  Philippians,  *^toall  the 

*  2  Pet.  iii.  11.  t  Eph.  i. 


THE  CATECHISM.  Hi 

Saints  in  Christ  Jesus  who  ai'e  at  Philippi,"*  and  so 
in  many  other  places.  And  because  these  Saints,  or 
Christians,  have  one  common  faith,  one  common  rule 
of  life,  God's  holy  word,  common  ordinances  or  Sa- 
craments of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  are  all  united 
to  him  their  common  head;  therefore  these  Christians, 
when  considered  as  one  body,  bound  together  by 
these  ties  of  union  and  communion  with  one  another, 
are  in  general,  properly  called  the  communion  of  Saints; 
and  in  the  closest  application  of  the  term,  those  who 
not  only  profess  the  gospel,  but  also  are  sanctified  and 
renewed  thereby.  Nor  have  such  communion  only 
with  the  saints  on  earth,  but  are  of  one  city,  and  one 
family  with  those  who  are  already  admitted  into  Hea- 
ven, the  "  spirits  of  the  just  made  perfect."!  Doubt- 
less they  with  the  Angels  exercise  that  communion 
towards  us;  being  as  described  in  the  Holy  Scripture, 
*'ministring  spirits,  sent  forth  to  minister  unto  those 
who  shall  be  heirs  of  salvation.  "J 

^'  The  Forgiveness  of  sins"  is  the  next  declara- 
tion of  a  Christian's  faith.  It  is  the  gospel  of  Christ 
alone  which  brings  us  the  glad  tidings  of  our  peace 
w  ith  God,  and  his  forgiveness  and  good  will  towards 
man;  and  teaches  us  the  atonement  whereby  this  peace 

*  Phil.    -  t  Hcb.  xii.  2  3.         .|  Heb.  i.  14, 


112  LECTURES  UN 

has  been  obtained,  even  by  the  death  and  propitiatory 
sacrifice  of  the  Son  of  God — as  has  been  already  ex- 
plained. And  in  this  sense  we  declare  our  belief  of 
the  forgiveness  of  sins,  viz.  That  in  the  holy  Catho- 
lic Church  of  Christ,  before  mentioned,  God  is  pleas- 
ed most  graciously  to  convey  to  us  this  forgiveness 
in  the  first  instance,  upon  our  being  baptised  into  it; 
and  afterwards  to  assure  us  of  the  same  abundant 
mercy,  if  we  sincerely  repent  of  those  sins  which  we 
afterwards  commit;  and  if  we  embrace  by  faith  the 
merits  of  Christ's  death,  who  is  the  propitiation  for 
our  sins. 

As  we  believe  "  The  Forgiveness  of  sins,"  so  we 
are  bound  to  believe  '*  the  Resurrection  of  the  body," 
or  that  as  it  is  appointed  unto  all  men  once  to  die,  so 
it  is  determined  that  all  men  shall  rise  from  death;  that 
the  souls  separated  from  our  bodies,  are  in  the  hands 
of  God  and  live;  that  the  bodies  dissolved  into  dust, 
or  scattered  into  air,  shall  be  collected  in  themselves 
and  reunited  to  their  souls;  that  the  same  flesh  which 
lived  before  shall  be  revived,  otherwise  the  conscious- 
ness of  identity  necessary  in  the  succeeding  judg- 
ment on  the  "  deeds  done  in  the  body"*  would  be 
destroyed;  that  the  same  bodies  which  did  fall  shall 

*  Roin,  ii.  6. 


THE  CATECHISM.  1 1 3 

rise;  that  this  resurrection  shall  be  universal,  no  man 
excepted,  no  one  left  in  the  grave;  that  all  the  just 
shall  be  raised  to  a  resurrection  of  eternal  life  and 
happiness  supreme;  and  all  the  unjust,  or  wicked,  to 
a  resurrection  of  condemnation  or  punishment,  se- 
vere beyond  the  possibility  of  human  conception:  all 
this  is  to  be  performed  at  the  last  great  day  of  Judg- 
ment,* Our  blessed  Lord,  by  raising  himself  from 
the  dead,  as  has  been  explained  under  the  second  ar- 
ticle, has  given  us  a  most  inHillible  proof  and  assu- 
rance of  the  certainty  of  our  own  resurrection.  "  For 
as  in  Adam  all  die;  even  so  in  Christ  shall  all  be  made 
alive"t — "  He,''  saith  St.  Paul  to  the  Romans,  ''  who 
raised  up  Christ  from  the  dead  shall  also  quicken"  or 
restore  to  life"owr  mortal  bodies''^ — The  gospel  is 
exceedingly  clear  and  express  in  revealing  to  us  this 
great  truth;  that  in  order  to  the  final  judgment,  "  all 
that  are  in  their  graves  shall  hear  the  voice  of  the  Son 
ofGod,  and  shall  come  forth"§  to  the  resurrection. 
That  the  sea  shall  give  up  the  dead  who  are  in  it,  and 
that  our  corruptible  and  mortal  bodies  shall  put  on 
incorruption  and  immortality:  with  this  difference 
from  what  they  were  at  our  death,  that,  as  they  were 

*  Mat.  XXX.  31 — 46.  t  1  Cor.  xv.  22. 

I  Rom.  viii.  11.  §  John  v.  28. 


114  LECTURES  ON 

sown  natural  bodies,  in  corruption,  dishonour,  and 
weakness,  they  shall  be  raised  spiritual  bodies  in  in- 
corruption,  power  and  glory.  ^  And  as  this  resur- 
rection will  be  preparatory  to  the  final  judgment, 
we  proceed,  in  the  next  and  last  place,  to  declare  our 
belief  of  what  will  be  the  consequence  of  it;  viz. 
'*  And  the  life  everlasting"— that  is,  that  after  our 
bodies  and  souls  shall  be  thus  united  a  second  time, 
and  our  almighty  Judge  shall  have  passed  sentence 
upon  us,  that  then  they  shall  never  be  separated  more 
— "Death  shall  no  more  have  dominion  over  them."t 
They  shall  thenceforth  exist,  either  in  the  most  ex- 
cruciating misery,  or  the  most  ecstatic  happiness, 
"  according  to  what  we  have  before  done  in  the  body, 
whether  it  be  good  or  whether  it  be  evil."J 

I'hese,  my  young  friends,  are  the  fundamental 
articles  of  our  Christian  faith;  and  from  them  it  is 
evident,  that  (as  the  Catechism  teaches  you  in  the 
next  question  and  answer)  what  we  chiefly  leam  from 
these  articles  of  our  faith  is,  the  sublime  and  com- 
fortable doctrine  of  the  ever-blessed  Trinity,  or,  in 
other  words: — 

1st,  To  believe  in  "  God  the  Father,"  whose 
distinguishing  character  in  the  Holy  Scriptures  has 

*    1  Cor.  15.         t   Rom.  vi.  9.        \  2.  Cor.  v.  10. 


THE.  CATECHISM.  115 

been  shown  to  be  this,  that  "  he  hath  made  us  and  all 
the  world."  ^ 

2dly,  To  behevein  "God the  Son,"  whose  dis- 
tinguishing character  in  Holy  Writ  is,  that  he  hath, 
by  his  death  "  redeemed  us  and  all  mankind;" 

3dly,  To  believe  in  *'  God  the  Holy  Ghost," 
whose  distinguishing  character,  in  the  Sacred  Wri- 
tings, is  that  he,  by  his  grace,  "  sanctilieth  us  and  all 
the  elect  people,"  of  that  God,  whom  we  are,  there- 
fore indispensably  obliged,  with  *'  the  Holy  Church, 
throughout  the  world,"  to  acknowledge  to  be — *'  The 
Father  of  an  infinite  Majesty;  His  adorable,  true, 
and  only  Son;  also,  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  Comforter."^ 

Let  the  important  principles  contained  in  this 
Summary  of  the  Christian  Faith,  be  deeply  impress- 
ed upon  your  minds,  and  produce  their  proper  effect 
upon  your  lives  and  conversation.  Remember  that 
you  are  young,  that  if  it  please  God  to  continue  your 
existence  here,  you  will  soon  be  exposed  to  the  tri- 
als and  temptations,  and  experience  some  of  the 
various  troubles  of  the  world:  to  support  you  under 
which,  nothing  can  have  so  much  efficacy,  as  the 
establishment  of  virtuous  and  religious  principles: 
these  fortify  the  mind,  and  guard  the  soul  against  the 
snares  of  vice;  these  enable  us  constantly  to  consider 

*  See  the  "  Te  Detini." 


116  LECTURES  ON 

human  life,  as  we  ought,  as  a  state  of  probation; 
and,  *^  having  our  conversation  in  Heaven,"*  to  look 
forward  to,  and  diligently  prepare  for,  the  awful  hour 
of  death,  and  the  still  more  awful  Day  of  Judgment. 
"  Remember"  tlien,  adore  and  obey  *'  your  Crea- 
tor in  the  days  of  your  youth."t  Dedicate  "the  whole 
of  the  short  period  of  human  life  to  his  service,  and 
you  will  not  only  be  amply  rewarded  by   continual 
peace  of  mind,  the  inexpressible  comfort  of  an  ap  - 
proving  conscience,   but  you  will  have  peace  at  the 
last,  the  closing  hour  of  life,  which  we  must  all  ex- 
perience: when  we  shall  be  fully  sensible  of  the  value 
of  time  and  the  importance  of  eternity;  and  when  if 
we  have  neglected  to  improve  the  one  as  becometh 
Christians,  we  shall  look  forward  to  the  other  with 
terror  and  dismay,  convinced  that  there  can  be  no 
repentance  or  reformation  in  the  grave. 

"  The  thought  of  Death  indulgej 

"  Give  it  its  wholesome  empire!  let  it  reign; 
*'  That  kind  chastiser  of  thy  soul  in  joy! 
« Its  reign  will  spread  thy  glorious  conquests  far, 
"  And  still  the  tumults  of  thy  rufllcd  breast." 

Young's  Night  Thoughts,  N.  3. 

May  God  enable  you  so  to  consider  the  things 
which  belong  to  your  eternal  peace,  that  you  may,  at 

*  Phil.  iii.  20.  t  Eccles.  xii.  1. 


THE  CATECHISM.  117 

the  last  great  day  of  account,  receive  the  divine  ap- 
probation of  your  Almighty  Judge,  and  obtain  the 
reward  which  is  promised  to  the  "  pure  in  heart."* 
And  may  the  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and 
the  Love  of  God,  and  the  Fellowship  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  be  with  you  all  evermore.     Amen. 

Blat.  V.  8. 


LECTURE  VI. 

ox    THE   riRST   AND    SECOND    COMMANDMENTS. 

The  explanation  of  the  Creed,  or  fundamental 
principles  of  the  Christian  religion,  being  finished, 
the  order  of  our  Catechism  requires  that  we  should 
now  proceed  to  the  consideration  of  the  Command^ 
merits.  They  are  ten  in  number,  as  delivered  by  God 
himself  to  his  servant  Moses,  upon  Mount  Sinai;  and 
were  brought  do^^Ti  by  Moses  from  the  Mount,  writ- 
ten upon  two  tables  or  plates  of  stone,  whence  they 
are  called  the  laAvs  of  the  two  tables.  On  the  first  Table 
were  inscribed,  the  first  four  Commandments,  teach- 
us  our  duty  to  God  our  Almighty  Creator,  Pre- 
server, and  constant  Benefactor;  those  of  the  Second 
Table,  beginning  with  the  Fifth  Commandment,  and 
ending  with  the  Tenth,  instructing  us  in  our  duty 
towards  our  fellow  creatures,  or  rather,  as  we  are  na- 
turally prone  to  evil,  forbidding  the  commission  of 
those  acts  which  would  be  essentially  injurious  to 
them. 


LECTURES  &c.  119 

You   are  taught  in  the  Catechism,   that  your 
Sponsors,  or  those  persons  who  answered  for  you,  at 
the  time  of  your  baptism,  did  promise  and  vow  three 
things  in  your  name,  or  in  your  behalf.     First,  that 
when  you  arrived  to  sufficient  age  to  judge  and  act 
for  yourselves,  you  "  should  renounce  the  Devil"  (the 
great  enemy  to  our  present  and  eternal  happiness) 
"  and  all  his  works;  the  pomps  and  vanities  of  this 
wicked  world,  and  all  the  sinful  lusts  of  the  Flesh." 
Secondly,  that  you  "  should  believe  all  the  articles  of 
the  Christian  faith,  as  contained  in  the  apostles'  Creed; 
and.  Thirdly,  that  you  should  keep  God's  holy  will 
and  Commandment Sy  and  walk  in  the  same  all  the  days 
of  your  life."  The  two  first  of  these  promises,  I  have 
considered,  and  explained;  and  shall  now  enter  upon 
the  third,  viz,  the  Commandments  of  God,  which 
are  the  same  which  God  spake,  or  gave  to  the  child- 
ren of  Israel,  his  chosen  people,  (as  is  recorded  in 
the  twentieth  chapter  of  Exodus)  declaring  himself, 
at  the  same  time,  to  be  ^'  the  Lord  their  God,    who 
brought  them  out  of  the  Land  of  Egypt,  out  of  the 
house  of  bondage."*     And  though  these  Command- 
ments   were    thus    given    to  the  Jews  alone,  they 
are  equally   binding   upon   us   Christians;  because 

*  Exodus  XX.  2. 


120  LECTURES  ON 

Christ,  the  divine  author  of  our  religion,  who  was 
himself  a  Jew,  hath  told  us  that  he  came  **  not  to  de- 
stroy the  written  Law,  but  to  fulfil  and  enforce  it."^ 
And  also,  because  God  being  unchangeable  in  his 
nature,  must  always  require  the  same  duties  from  his 
creatures  in  all  ages  of  the  world. 

We  begin  with  the  First  Commandment — 
**  Thou  shalt  have  none  other  Gods  but  me:"  which 
our  blessed  Saviour  repeats  and  explains  in  these 
words — *'  Thou  shalt  worship  the  Lord  thy  God,  and 
him  only  shalt  thou  serve."!  And  from  these  two 
passages  taken  together,  it  is  evident,  that  this  Com- 
mandment contains  two  things.  1st,  It  forbids  the 
having,  that  is,  the  acknowledging  or  worshipping 
any  more  Gods  than  onCy  agreeably  to  St.  Paul,  who 
says  in  one  of  his  Epistles  or  Letters  to  the  Corinth- 
ians; "  We  know  that  there  is  none  other  God  but 
one."t  And  whoever  does  acknowledge  or  worship 
more  Gods  than  one,  robs  the  true  God  of  his  honour, 
and  is  guilty  of  the  first  and  most  heinous  sort  of 
Idolatry,  And  2dly,  This  Cojnmandmenty  as  expres- 
sed by  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  and  ex- 
plained by  our  Church  enjoins  us  Christians  to  form 
a  true  idea  of  him,  who  is  the  tiue  God,  (that  is,  the 

*  Matt.  V.  17.         t  Mjrtt.  iv.  10.  I  1  Cor.  viii.  4. 


THE  CATECHISM  121 

same  God  who  brought  up  the  children  of  Israel  out 
of  Egypt)  and  to  pay  our  duty  to  him  in  a  manner 
suitable  to  those  true  ideas  of  him  which  He  and  his 
only  and  well-beloved  Son  have  given  us.  Thou  shalt 
know  him  to  be  what  he  is,  the  Lord  thy  God,  and 
thou  shalt  worship  and  serve  him  as  such;  i.  e.  thou 
shalt  acknowledge  him  to  be  under  the  description  of 
three  persons,  the  one  living  and  true  God.  Namely, 
God  the  Father  Almighty,  Maker  of  Heaven  and 
Earth,  and  of  all  things,  visible  and  invisible;  God 
the  So7i^  who  for  us  men  and  for  our  salvation,  de- 
scended from  Heaven,  took  our  nature  upon  him, 
gave  instruction  both  by  precept  and  example,  how 
to  lead  a  holy  life,  and  finally  atoned  for  the  sins  of 
the  world  by  suffering,  in  his  human  nature,  death 
upon  the  cross,  and  then  reascending  to  Heaven,  and 
resuming  **  the  Glory  which  he  had,  with  his  Father, 
before  the  world  was;''*  and  God  the  Holt/  Ghost, 
the  Comforter,  who  is  our  spiritual  guide  to  the 
kingdom  of  Heaven. 

This  doctrine  of  the  Holy  Trinity  is  indeed  a 
subject  above  the  comprehension  of  the  human  un- 
derstanding; the  feeble  powers  of  our  reason  are  ina- 
dequate to  the  full  investigation  of  it.    That  it  is  de- 

*  John.  x>ii.   5. 


122  LECTURES  ON 

Glared  in  the  Holy  Scriptures  is  sufficient  authority 
for  our  Faith.  As  in  those  Sacred  Records,  enough 
is  clearly  revealed  and  accommodated  to  our  capa- 
cities, to  convince  us  of  their  divine  origin,  so  there 
are  necessarily  in  them  some  points  asserted  which 
we  arc  bound  implicitly  to  believe,  without  examina- 
tion, in  order  that  our  faith  may  be  fully  proved  and 
ascertained:  and  such  is  the  Scriptural  doctrine  of  the 
Trinity  in  Unity,  as  received  by  our  Church,  and 
maintained  in  her  Articles  and  Creeds. 

This  Triune  God,  or  one  God  of  three  persons, 
we  are  commanded  to  believe  in;  that  is,  to  fix  firmly 
in  our  minds  a  sense  of  his  existence,  frequently  to 
recal  to  our  memories,  and  imprint  deeply  upon  our 
hearts,  an  awful  persuasion  of  the  Being  and  Presence, 
the  Power  and  Justice,  the  Holiness  and  Truth  of  this 
great  Lord  of  all;  that  we  fear  him  on  account  of  his 
power;  that  we  love  him  for  his  goodness,  with  all 
our  heart,  with  all  our  soul,  and  with  all  our  strength; 
that  is,  in  the  most  sincere  and  ardent  manner  we  are 
able;  that  we  worship  him  in  Spirit  and  in  Truth; 
for,  being  a  Spirit,  he  must  be  worshipped  in  like 
manner;  that  we  give  him  thanks  for  the  daily  mer- 
cies received  from  him,  and  particularly  for  the 
greatest  of  all  mercies,  the  sending  his  Son  to  redeem 
our  lost  and  ruined  race;  that  we  put  our  whole  trust 


THE   CATECHISM.  \<23 

in  him  for  future  supp^  and  constantly  call  upoi> 
him,  in  prayer,  for  his  divinb^rotection  and  assist- 
ance. So  that  the  First  Cominandm^t,  as  explained 
in  the  New  Testament,  not  only  forbids  Ub  that  kind 
of  Idolatry  which  consists  in  worshipping  false  gods, 
but  requires  us  to  worship  the  true  God  in  a  true  and 
proper  manner. 

The  Second  Commandment  forbids  us  another 
kind  of  Idolatry,  which  heathen,  unenlightened  na- 
tions are  always  prone  to.  The  Second  Command- 
ment is ''  Thou  shalt  not  make  to  thyself  any  graven 
image,''  &c.  wherein  we  are  forbidden,  in  the  plainest 
and  most  express  words,  to  make  any  images 
or  representations  whatsoever  of  any  beings  whatso- 
ever, in  order  to  pay  them  any  manner  of  worship,  the 
lowest  kind  of  which  is  bowing  down  to  them. 

To  this  gross  kind  of  forbidden  outward  Idola- 
try, St.  Paul  adds  an  inward  or  mental  Idolatry, 
which  consists  in  placing  our  affections  so  strongly 
on  any  earthly  thing,  as  to  forsake  God,  and  disobey 
his  laws  in  order  to  attain  it;  which  is  in  reality  prefer- 
ring it  before  him;  and  in  this  sense  he  commands 
the  Colosslans  to  avoid  "  Covetousness,  which,"  says 
he,  ''  is  Idolatry."* 

*  Col.  iii.  5 


124  LECTURES  ON 

And  this  species  of  Idolatry,  arising  from  the 
indulgence  of  our  Passions,  it  is  particularly  our  du- 
ty, as  Christians,  to  guard  against,  not  being  now 
from  the  general  external  worship  of  the  true  God,  expo- 
sed to  the  danger  of  the  Idolatry  particularly  prohibit- 
ed by  this  Commandment.  The  spirit  of  the  law,  howe- 
ver, is  as  much  violated  by  suffering  any  earthly  ob- 
jects so  to  engross  our  affections  and  attention  as  to 
supersede,  in  any  degree,  that  which  we  owe  to  God, 
as  though  we  were  to  offer  external  adoration  to  it. 

The  reason  expressed  in  this  Commandment 
against  Idolatry  is,  that  '^  God  is  a  jealous  God;" 
that  is,  that  as  men  jealous  of  their  honour,  will  not 
suffer  it  to  be  taken  from  them  without  avenging  it, 
so  neither  will  Almighty  God  suffer  us  to  go  unpun- 
ished if  we  idolatrously  give  to  other  beings,  or 
their  representations,  the  honour  due  only  to  his  Holy 
Name;  but  will  visit  all  such  as  thus  irrationally  and 
impiously  insult  him,  with  severe  punishments. 

Hence,  among  the  Jews,  whose  rewards  and  pu- 
nishments  were  all  temporal,  the  children  of  such 
profane  parents,  if  they  continued  to  go  on  to  hate  the 
living  and  true  God,  i.  e.  to  trust  in  other  gods  or 
idols,  and  to  disregard  and  disobey  him,  experienced 
the  most  exemplary  temporal  punishments:  whereas, 
on  the  other  hand,  if  the  fathers  and  children  reve- 


THE  CATECHISM.  i25 

rcnced  and  obeyed  God,  his  mercy  and  blessing  were 
promised  not  only  to  the  third  and  fourth  generation, 
but  to  thousands  of  generations  of  those  who  loved 
him  and  kept  his  Commandments,  And  to  this  threat 
of  such  lasting  temporal  or  worldly  evils  to  such  as 
commit  Idolatry,  the  Gospel  adds  a  much  more  se- 
vere, even  a  punishment  in  the  world  to  come,  or 
that  state  of  existence  which  we  shall  enter  upon 
when  we  are  called  out  of  the  present;  which  is,  that 
"  no  Idolater  will  have  any  inheritance  in  the  kingdom 
of  Christ,  and  of  God;"*  or  in  other  words,  will  be 
excluded  or  shut  out  from  the  enjoyment  of  the 
happiness  of  Heaven. 

I  shall  consider  in  my  next,  and  the  following  Lec- 
ture, the  two  remaining  Commandments  of  the  JFirst 
Table,  or  those  duties  which  particularly  relate  to 
God,  viz.  The  Third  Commandment  which  forbids 
the  taking  of  God's  Holy  Name  in  vain;  and  the 
Fourth  which  points  out  the  high  obligation  which 
rests  upon  us,  strictly  to  observe  and  reverence  the 
Sabbath  day. 

In  the  mean  time.  May  God  bless  you,  and  ena- 
ble you  by  his  Divine  Grace  diligently  to  serve  him 
and  faithfully  to  keep  all  his  Commandments. 

*  Eph.   V.   5. 


LECTURE.  VII. 


ON  THE  THIRD  COMMANDMENT. 

The  next  Commandment  which  the  order  of  our 
Lectures  requires  me  to  comment  upon  is  the  Third: 
viz.  *'  Thou  shalt  not  take  the  name  of  the  Lord  thy 
God  in  vain,  for  the  Lord  will  not  hold  him  guiltless 
who  taketh  his  name  in  vain." 

This  is  a  subject  of  the  highest  importance,  and 
most  particularly  deserves  your  closest  attention;  be- 
cause the  habit  of  profane  swearing  is  a  vice  so  gen- 
erally indulged  and  so  easily  acquired  by  youth;  at 
first,  indeed,  from  the  influence  of  example  in  their 
elders,  and  from  inconsiderateness  and  ignorance  of 
its  enormity  in  themselves;  but  afterwar'ds,  when  es- 
tablished by  habit,  so  difficult  to  be  overcome,  so  vul- 
gar, and  consequently  disgraceful  in  its  exv^rcise,  and 
so  highly  criminal  in  the  sight  of  God,  not  oi"Jy  from 
the  disrespect  and  insult  which  the  familiar  vise  of  his 


THE  CATECHISM.  127 

Holy  name  offers  to  his  Divine  Majesty,  but  from  the 
unavoidable  tendency  which  it  has  to  corrupt  the  mo- 
rals and  principles  of  our  fellow  creatures;  and  to  les- 
sen that  serious  and  constant  regard  which  we  ought 
always  to  pay  to  religion  and  its  various  duties. 

The  first  Commandment  haying  ^ro\ided  that  wc 
should  worship  only  the  one  true  God,  and  the  Se- 
cond having  forbidden  the  worshipping  of  him  in  a 
manner  so  unworthy  and  so  dangerous  as  by  Ima- 
ges; the  Third,  or  that  now  more  immediately  before 
us,  proceeds  to  direct,  that  we  preserve  a  due  rever- 
ence to  him  in  our  whole  conversation  and  behaviour. 
**  Thou  shalt  not  take  the  name  of  the  Lord  thy  God  \ 
in  vain."  That  is,  first;  Thou  shalt  not  swear  by  the 
name  of  God Jhlselt/.     The  taking  of  oaths  in  a  court  \ 

of  justice,  or  to  establish  the  truth  upon  important 
and  particular  occasions,  is  certainly  not  only  lawful 
but  sometimes  unavoidable  necessary;  and  is  justi- 
fied by  the  language  of  Scripture  with  respect  to  God       \ 
himself;  particularly,  among  many  other  passages,        \ 
we  are  told  by  Moses  in  the  book  of  Genesis,  that         1 
the  Angel  of  the  Lord  called  unto  Abraham  out  of 
Heaven,  and  said  "  By  myself  have  I  sworn,"  saith  ! 

the  Lord,  "  because  thou  hast  not  withheld  thine  on- 
ly Son  from  me,  that  in  blessing  I  will  bless  thee."* 

Gen.  xxii.  16. 


128  LECTURES  ON 

&c.  And  from  the  declaration  of  St.  Paul  to  the 
Hebrews,  that  ''  Oaths  are  allowable  for  confirmation 
and  to  put  an  end  to  all  strife."^  But  the  deliber- 
ately taking  of  a  false  oath  is  one  of  the  most  shock- 
ing crimes  of  which  we  can  be  guilty.  For,  taking 
an  oath  is  declaring  solemnly  that  we  know  ourselves 
to  be  in  the  presence  of  God,  and  calling  him  to  wit- 
ness what  we  speak;  it  is  appealing  to  him  that  our 
words  express  the  very  truth  of  our  hearts,  and  re- 
nouncing all  title  to  his  mercy  if  they  do  not.  This 
it  is  to  swear.  Think  then  what  it  is  to  swcsly  Jalse- 
ly.  In  other  sins,  men  endeavour  to  forget  God: 
but  perjury,  or  false  swearing,  is  daring  and  braving 
tlie  Almighty  to  his  very  face;  bidding  him  take  no- 
tice of  the  falsehood  w^iich  we  utter,  and  do  his  utmost 
to  punish  it,  if  he  can.  How  awfully  dreadful  even 
the  idea  of  such  blasphemous  presumption!  Next  to 
false  swearing,  false  speaking  or  lying,  (whether  in 
what  we  assert  or  declare,  or  what  we  promise)  is  a 
grievous  sin,  and  hateful  both  to  God  and  man. 
Though  we  do  not  formally  and  deliberately  call  our 
Maker  to  witness,  yet  he  is  a  witness  of  whatsoever 
we  do  or  say;  and  it  is  certainly  presumptuous  wick- 
edness to  utter  an  untruth  in  the  presence  of  the  God 
of  truth.     It  is  also  very  hurtful  to  other  persons,  and 

♦Hcb.vi.  16. 


THE  CATECHISM.  129 

very  foolish  with  respect  to  ourselves.  For  they  who 
will  lie  to  conceal  their  faults,  or  effect  their  designs,  are 
perpetually  found  out,  disappointed,  and  ashamed, 
and  forever  after  distrusted,  and  disbelieved  even  when 
they  speak  the  truth.  '  For,  how  can  any  dependence 
be  placed  upon  the  assurances  of  a  person  once 
known  to  be  capable  of  telling  a  wilful  lie? 

Another  very  needless  and  always  siriful  use  of 
God's  holy  name  is,  by  the  use  of  oaths  in  common 
discourse.  Too  many  there  are  who  fill  up  with 
them  a  great  part  of  their  most  trifling  conversation; 
especially  if  the  least  degree  of  warmth  arise:  then 
they  abound  with  them.  Now,  it  is  impossible  but  that 
persons  who  areperpetually  swearing,  must  frequently 
perjure  themselves;  but  even  were  it  7wtso,  itis  certainly 
great  irreverence  and  an  insult  to  Almighty  God  to 
call  upon  him  as  a  witness  to  every  slight  assertion, 
and  to  connect  his  sacred  name  with  the  most  trifling 
sentiments  or  expressions  which  we  utter.  And  what 
makes  this  abominable  and  impious  practice  the  more 
inexcusable  is,  that  we  can  rleither  derive  any  advan- 
tage from  it,  nor  experience  any  natural  pleasure  in  it, 
its  indulgence  having  no  foundation  in  nature,  but 
being  always  induced  by  the  baneful  and  contagious 
influence  of  bad  example. 

R 


13=0  LECTURES  ON 

Besides,  it  argues  not  only  a  total  want  of  com= 
mon  good  manners,  but  also  of  respect  for  religion. 
For  who  can  believe  in  God  and  fear  him  as  he  ought, 
and  yet,  by  the  familiar  use  of  his  holy  name,  treat 
him  with  disrespect  and  contempt?  The  best  and  wi- 
sest men  in  all  ages  have  always  worshipped,  not  blas- 
phemed their  great  Creator.  Among  many  others, 
the  great  Mr.  Robert  Boyle  never  mentioned  the  name 
of  God,  without  a  considerable  pause  in  his  discourse, 
and  the  bending  of  his  body  in  testimony  of  his  res- 
pect and  adoration.  Our  blessed  Saviour  Jesus  Christ 
strictly  commands  us  to  abstain,  not  only  from  false 
swearing,  but  from  swearing  at  all  in  our  common 
conversation,  either  by  God  himself,  or  by  any  of 
his  works,  which  is  in  eifect  swearing  by  him  who  is 
the  author  of  them.  ''  1  say  unto  you,"  said  he, 
"  swear  not  at  all,"  in  conversation,  '*  neither  by  Hea. 
ven,  for  it  is  God's  throne,  nor  by  the  Earth,  for  it  is 
his  footstool,  but  let  your  communication,"  or  con- 
versation, **  be  yea,  yea,  or  nay,  nay,  for  whatsoever 
is  more  than  that  becometh  evil,"*  or  sin.  This  is  a 
rule  so  evidently  correct,  that  even  heathens  have 
strictly  enjoined  and  followed  it,  to  the  shame  of  too 
many  who  call  themselves  Christians. 

Together  with  common  swearing  should  be  men- 
tioned another  sin,  almost  always  joined  to  it;  I  mean 
*  McOi.  V.  St. 


THE  CATFXHISM.  ISi 

that  monstrous  custom  of  cursing,  in  direct  contra- 
diction  to  all  humanity,  and  to  the  express  words  of 
Scripture  ' *  Bless  and  curse  not. " *  To  wish  the  hea- 
viest judgments  of  God,  and  even  eternal  damnation 
to  a  person  for  the  slightest  cause  of  anger,  or  none  at 
all;  to  wish  the  same  to  ourselves  if  some  trifling  thing 
we  are  saying  be  not  (which  frequently  we  know  to  be 
not)  true,  amounts  to  the  most  desperate  impiety,  if 
people  at  all  consider  what  they  say:  and  if  thev  do 
not,  it  is,  even  then  thoughtlessly,  impiously  treating 
God  and  his  laws,  and  the  awful  sanction  of  them  with 
contempt,  and  blotting  out  of  our  minds  all  serious 
regard  to  subjects  that  will  one  day  be  found  the  most 
important  and  awful  of  all  possible  things.  "  His  de- 
light was  in  cursing,"  says  the  Psalmist,  '*  and  it  shall 
happen  unto  him;  he  loved  not  blessing,  therefore 
shall  it  be  far  from  him."t  ^^d  though  we  no  way 
profane  his  name  ourselves,  yet  if  we  entice,  or  make 
others  commit  perjury  or  falsehood,  or  provoke  them 
to  rash  oaths  or  curses,  or  give  them  any  temptation 
to  blaspheme  God,  to  speak  disrespectfully  or  think 
slightly  oftheir  Maker,  or  his  laws  natural  or  revealed, 
by  such  behaviour  also  we  break  or  violate  this  com- 
mandment, and  rank  ourselves  with  those,  whom  it 
expressly  declares   God  will  "  not  hold  guiltless;" 

^  Rom.  xii    !  1-         PsI.  cix.  16. 


152  LFXTURESON 

that  is,  according  to  the  Hebrew  manner  of  speaking, 
he  will  not  forgive,  but  very  severely  punish. 

Oh  then,  let  us  be  very  watchful  to  preserve  con- 
tinually such  an  awe  of  the  Supreme  Being  upon  our 
own  minds,  and,  by  our  example,  upon  the  minds  of 
all  those  who  are  immediately  connected  with  us,  or 
with  whom  we  associate,  as  may,  on  every  occasion, 
effectually  influence  both  us  and  them  to  give  to  God 
the  glory  due  unto  his  name,  both  in  our  more  solemn 
addresses  to  him,  and  in  our  daily  words  and  actions. 
'*  For  God  is  greatly  to  be  feared  in  the  Assembly  of 
the  Saints,  or  righteous,  and  to  be  had  in  reverence 
of  all  those  who  are  round  about  him.''t 

Let  me  intreat  you,  therefore,  beloved  youths,  as 
you  regard  your  own  characters,  the  good  of  society, 
the  purity  of  your  minds,  the  composure  of  your  con- 
sciences through  life,  and  particularly  at  that  awful 
hour  of  departure  from  this  world,  when  you  are 
about  to  be  called  upon  by  God  himself  to  answer  for 
every  idle  and  profane  word  which  you  have  uttered; 
and  as  you  wish  and  hope  for  happiness  in  the  next 
state  of  existence,  which  we  all  know  will  be  a  state 
of  reward  or  punishment,  abstain  with  the  most  rigid 
and  religious  caution,  from  the  commission  of  this 
abominable  and  dangerous  vice  of  profane  swearing, 

t  Psl  Ixxxiv  ^ 


THE  (mXECHISM* 


133 


"  Let  no  corrupt  communication  proceed  out  of  your 
mouth."*  Let  a  constant  sense  of  God's  presence 
prevent  your  ever  presuming  to  take  his  holy  name  in 
vain,  and,  as  far  as  you  are  able,  by  your  advice  and 
example  endeavour  to  reform  those  of  your  compa- 
nions who  may  unhappily,  at  any  time,  be  guilty  of  it. 
Always  remembering  that  they  who  commit  this  great 
sin,  which  is  so  positively  forbidden  by  God  himself, 
are  laying  up  for  themselves,  a  store  of  punishment 
greater  than  we  can  conceive,  which  will  most  cer- 
tainly be  inflicted  when  repentance  will  be  ineffectual, 
and  amendment  impossible.  Think,  Oh!  seriously 
think  on  these  important  truths. 

To  God's  gracious  protection  I  commit  you. 
May  the  Lord  bless  you,  and  keep  you,  preserve  you 
from  the  temptations  of  the  Devil,  the  World,  and  the 
Flesh,  and  enable  you  by  his  Divine  Grace  to  say  and 
to  do  such  things  as  shall  be  pleasing  in  his  sight,  that 
you  may  enjoy  peace  and  happiness  both  now  and  for 
evermore.     Amen, 

*  Eph.  iv.  29. 


LECTURE  VIII. 


ON    THE   rOL'RTH    COMMAXDMEAT. 

The  subject  of  my  address  to  you  this  morning 
is  that  very  important  and  necessary  duty  which  is 
so  positively  enjoined  in  the  Fourth  Cornmandment, 
viz. 

*'  Remember,  that  thou  keep  holy  the  Sabbath 
Day." 

And  to  beings  such  as  we  are,  whose  life  is  of  so 
uncertain  duration,  and  at  best  of  so  short  continu- 
ance— who  are  placed  here  as  in  a  school,  or  state  of 
preparation  for  another  and  an  eternal  world,  and 
whose  happiness  or  misery  in  that  world  will  depend 
upon  the  nature  of  our  thoughts,  w^ords,  and  actions 
in  this,  surely  the  necessity  of  it  must  be  evident. 
The  strictest  observance  of  a  command  which  is  so 
highly  calculated  to  promote  our  comfort  and  happi- 


,  LECTURES,  Sec,  135 

ness  here  as  rational  and  immortal  beings,  and  to 
secure  our  eternal  happiness  hereafter^  if  properly 
considered,  cannot  but  receive  the  approbation,  and 
meet  the  most  earnest  wishes  of  every  sincere  Chris- 
tian. Let  us  therefore  devote  a  few  minutes  to  an 
attentive  examination  of  this  solemn  injunction  of  Al- 
mighty God,  our  infinitely  good  Creator,  Preserver^ 
and  constant  Benefactor,  who  could  not  possibly  re- 
quire us  to  do  any  thing  which  is  not  in  the  highest 
degree  calculated  for  our  benefit. 

The  general  meaning  of  the  Commandment  is, 
that  one  day  of  the  week  should  be  set  apart  from  com- 
mon uses,  and  be  kept  holy.  The  particular  day  which 
the  Jews  were  here  commanded  to  set  apart  was  the 
Seventh.  The  manner  in  which  they  were  required 
to  keep  this  day  holy^  was,  by  spending  it  in  religious 
works;  such  as  the  worshipping  of  God,  and  devout 
meditation  on  his  goodness  and  majesty;  and  by  re- 
fraining from  all  manner  of  work  ^  either  of  amusement 
or  of  business,  on  that  day;  and  giving  the  same  rest  ta 
their  families,  their  servants,  and  their  cattle.  The  rea- 
son given  for  choosing  this  particular  day  is  here  said 
to  be  in  memory  of  the  creation  of  the  world;  because 
God  was  pleased  to  form  this  great  globe  which  we 
inhabit,  with  all  its  rich  and  wonderful  variety  ofani^ 
mals  and  vegetables,  for  our  accommodation  and  sup- 


136  LECTURES  ON 

port,  not  instantaneously,  by  a  single  word,  which  as 
a  Being  of  infinite  Power,  he  could  as  easily  have 
done,  but  by  slower  degrees,  in  six  days:  and  he  rest- 
ed on  the  seventh  day,  this  work  of  Creation  being 
then  completed.  Not  that  this,  or  any  other  thing 
could  fatigue  or  weary  him;  but  the  expression  means, 
that  having  then  finished  the  formation  of  this  world, 
he  ceased  from  further  creation  with  respect  to  it,  and 
required  men  also  to  cease  from  their  labours  every 
seventh  day,  in  memory  of  that  fundamental  article 
of  all  religion,  that  the  heavens  and  earth  were  made, 
and  therefore  are  governed,  by  an  infinitely  wise,  pow- 
erful, and  good  Being.  And  thus  was  the  Sabbath^ 
which  word  in  the  Hebrew  language  signifies  a  day  of 
rest,  a  sign,  as  the  Scripture  terms  it,  between  God 
and  the  children  of  Israel,  a  mark  to  distinguish 
them  from  all  worshippers  of  false  deities:  but  besides 
this  principal  reason  of  the  rest  for  every  seventh  day, 
two  other  reasons  are  mentioned  in  the  law;  that  it 
might  remind  them  of  that  deliverance  from  heavy 
bondage  which  God  had  granted  them;  "Remember,'' 
said  Moses  to  the  Israelites,  "  that  tliou  wast  a  servant 
in  the  land  of  Egypt,  and  that  the  Lord  brought  thee 
out  thence;  therefore,  he  commands  thee  to  keep  the  Sab- 
bath Day."*     And  likewise,  that  their  servants  and 

*  Deut.  V.  15. 


THE  CATECHISM.  157 

cattie  might  not  be  worn  out  with  excessive  toil;  "that 
tliine  ox  and  thine  ass  may  rest;  and  the  son  of  thine 
handmaid,  and  the  stranger,  may  be  refreshed."* 

Thus  were  they  frequently  reminded  of  their 
great  deliverer,  who  had  given  them  that  rest;  which, 
contrasted  with  their  former  slavery,  would  naturally 
impress  upon  their  minds  a  very  lively  sense  of 
what  God  had  done  for  them,  and  perpetuate  the  re- 
membrance of  him  both  as  the  Creator  of  the  world, 
and  the  Redeemer  of  Israel. 

Such  was  the  state  of  things  when  our  blessed 
Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ  came  into  the  world, 
as  the  great  deliverer  of  the  human  race;  when  those 
reasons  for  the  observance  of  the  Sabbath,  which  re- 
ferred only  to  the  peculiar  circumstances  of  the  Jews 
were  done  away,  as  the  appearance  of  the  thing  repre- 
sented rendered  the  observance  of  the  representation 
unnecessary.  Their  deliverance,  therefore,  out  of 
Egypt  by  the  handof  Moses,  was  no  longer  to  be  com- 
memorated, for  behold!  a  greater  than  Moses,  even 
Christ,  the  character  whom  he  represented,  was  come! 
The  sign  of  the  Covenant  between  God  and  them  was 
no  longer  of  any  use,  nor  was  that  distinction  between 
them  and  the  other  nations  of  the  earth  now  necessa- 
ry; because  the  partition  wall  between  Jew  and  Gen- 


138  LECTURES  ON 

tile  was  broken  down;  and  Christ,  in  whom  ail  the 
nations  of  the  earth  were  to  be  blessed,  and  "  of  whom 
Moses  in  the  Law,  and  the  Prophets  did  speak,"* 
had  descended  from  Heaven,  and  put  away  Sin  by  the 
sacrifice  of  himself,  to  save  our  souls  by  a  great  deli- 
verance. His  disciples,  of  course,  with  great  propri- 
ety, changed  the  observance  of  the  Sabbath  from  the 
seventh  to  thej^r^jfday  of  the  week,  in  commemoration 
of  the  Resurrection  of  Christ  on  that  day,  which  then 
became  the  great  leading  object  of  their  faith,  the  seal 
of  their  redempti  on;  and  in  thankful  remembrance  of  it, 
was  appointed  for  the  time  of  public  worship  among 
Christians,  and  is  therefore  called  by  St.  John  The 
Lord's  day,  though  in  common  language  it  is  more 
usually  called  Sunday,  which  is  indeed  a  heathenish 
term,  being  the  day  dedicated  by  them  to  the  worship 
of  the  Sun;  but  it  is  figuratively  so  called  by  Chris- 
tians, because  on  it  Christ  the  Son  of  Righteousness 
arose,  as  "  a  light  to  lighten  the  Gentiles,  and  to  be 
the  glory  of  his  people  Israel."! 

Thus  as  the  Sabbath  was  before  the  memorial 
of  a  temporal  or  worldly  rest,  it  now  became  the  me- 
morial of  a  spiritual  deliverance,  of  a  restoration  from 
a  state  of  sin  and  spiritual  slavery,  to  the  glorious  liber- 

^  John  J,  Mu        fLuke.ji:  32, 


ty  of  the  sons  of  God;  of  a  title  of  admission  into  the 
heavenly  Canaan,  that  promised  resty  that  incorrupti- 
ble  inheritance  of  the  just;  while  at  the  same  time  the 
general  objects  of  the  Jewish  Sabbath  were  as  cffe/:- 
tually  embraced.  Of  the  Creation,  it  was  still  as 
much  a  memorial  as  it  had  ever  been:  for,  though 
the  day  was  not  precisely  the  same,  it  was  still  one 
day  in  seven,  and  therefore  equally  commemorative 
of  that^  while  it  also  commemorated  another  object 
more  immediately  referring  to  the  Christian  state. 
The  rest  from  worldly  pursuits,  and  the  consequent 
leisure  v/hich  it  alFords  for  devotional  exercises  and 
religious  duties,  the  figurative  representation  of  a  fu- 
ture life,  and  the  ease  and  refreshment  of  the  infjerior 
animals  employed  in  our  service,  are  equally  well  ef- 
fected by  it  now,  as  under  the  former  institution. 

Such  being  the  nature  of  the  Sabbath,  or  Lord^s 
Day,  its  importance  and  its  usefulness  must  be  very 
evident  to  you.  As  a  day  of  rest  it  is  intended  to 
take  us  out  of  the  hurry  and  temptations  of  the 
world,  and  lead  us  to  that  retirement  where  our  minds, 
composed  and  undisturbed,  may  be  able  to  converse, 
as  it  were,  with  God,  and  to  contemplate  spiritual  ob- 
jects; for  it  would  be  of  little  use  to  have  a  day 
set  apart  for  religious  purposes,  in  remembrance  that 
the  world  was  made  by  God  and  redeemed  bv  Christ; 


140  raXTURES  ON 

orto represent  the  Sabbath,  orthe  rest  of  a  future'statCj 
unless  the  mind  be  directed  by  it  to  the  objects  it 
has  respect  to;  and  be  led  by  the  recollection  of  them 
to  such  devout  reflections,  pious  resolutions,  and 
heavenly  dispositions,  as  the  appointment  of  the  Sab- 
bath was  intended  to  cultivate.  Not  that  religious 
exercises  are  to  be  wholly  neglected  on  other  days; 
particularly  our  morning  and  evening  sacrifice  of 
prayer  and  praise;  but  that  that  day  be  regiilarly  and 
altogether  devoted  to  the  service  of  God,  and  the  sal- 
vation of  our  immortal  souls.  It  is,  therefore,  our 
bounden  duty  and  service  to  dedicate  it  to  God,  to 
public  and  private  acts  of  piety  and  devotion. 

Every  opportunity  of  public  worship  and  instruc- 
tion we  should  certainly  embrace;  the  intermediate 
parts  of  the  day  we  should  employ  in  recollecting  and 
meditating  upon  what  we  have  heard;  in  reading  dili- 
gently the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  other  books  of  mo- 
ral and  divine  instruction;  in  private  prayer  to  God, 
beseeching  his  blessings  and  imploring  his  grace;  in 
reviewing  the  actions  of  the  past  week;  in  forming 
such  good  resolutions,  and  cultivating  such  disposi- 
tions as  Avill  promote  our  advancement  in  piety; 
and,  by  giving  the  influence  of  our  good  example  to 
those  who  may  know  and  observe  us. 


THE  CATECHISM.  341 

Such  is  the  way  to  *'  hallow  the  Sabbath,  as  the 
Lord  our  God  hath  commanded  as:"  and  any  other 
way  of  passing  it,  unless  constrained  by  sickness,  is 
certainly  a  wilful  profanation  of  it. 

Take  heed,  therefore,  my  young  friends,  take 
heed  to  your  ways,  and  suffer  not  the  influence  of  bad 
example,  the  pleasures  of  the  world,  or  the  delusive 
and  fatal  charms  of  idleness,  to  tempt  you  to  disobey 
this  solemn  and  positive  command.  Reflect  upon  the 
inestimable  advantages  resulting  from  the  proper  ob- 
servance of  it;  that  a  due  sense  of  the  necessity  and 
importance  of  Religion,  of  our  dependance  upon  and 
obligation  to  our  Heavenly  Father,  and  of  the  awful* 
ness  of  an  approaching  judgment  and  eternity  is  there- 
by kept  alive  in  the  mind;  by  which  our  good  resolu- 
tions are  strengthened,  our  minds  prepared  to  meet 
the  various  occurrences  of  this  transitor}^  life,  as  be- 
cometh  Christians,  and  rational  beings;  as  those  who 
are  sensible  that  they  must  give  an  account;  and  that 
it  keeps  up,  as  it  were,  a  constant  intercourse  with 
our  Almighty  Creator,  and  Divine  Redeemer  who 
will  ere  long  be  our  Judge,  and  reward  or  punish  us 
according  to  the  deeds  done  in  the  body.  Consider, 
on  the  other  hand,  the  inevitable  evil  which  must  arise 
from  the  neglect  or  profanation  of  that  holy  day.  That 
you  must  thereby  inciu'  the  displeasure  of  him  ^vho 


142  LECTURES  O^T 

commanded  you  to  hallow  the  Seventh  Day;  that  you 
will  soon,  by  neglecting  its  proper  observance,  be- 
come accustomed  to  neglect  that  most  important  duty 
of  self-examination;  that  a  sense  of  your  dependence 
upon  God,  and  accountability  to  him,  will  gradually 
wear  out  of  the  mind;  and,  that  naturally  advancing 
from  the  omission  of  duty  to  the  commission  of  sin,  you 
will  rapidly  go  on  to  destruction  and  misery,  both  in 
this  world  and  the  next.  It  is  well  known  that  many 
of  the  most  atrocious  criminals  who  have  suffered 
death  as  a  punishment  for  their  crimes  against  society, 
have,  in  their  last  moments  declared,  that  the  begin- 
ning  of  their  wicked  and  fatal  course  was  the  neglect 
and  profanation  of  the  Lord's  Day.  And  indeed,  if 
we  v/ilfully  disobey  so  positive  a  command  of  God, 
how  can  we  expect  his  blessing  and  the  influence  of 
his  divine  grace  to  purify  and  to  amend  our  hearts? 

Let  it  therefore  be  your  constant  endeavour  to  ob- 
serve this  day  as  the  Lord  your  God  hath  commanded 
you.  Let  nothing  but  sickness  prevent  your  uniform 
attendance  to  worship  him  in  his  holy  Temple;  and 
employ  the  intermediate  hours  of  the  day  in  reading 
the  Holy  Scriptures,  in  raising  your  hearts  by  private 
prayer  and  praise  to  God  for  his  varions  blessings,  in 
devout  meditation,  and  in  serious,  innocent,  and  so- 
ber conversation.     Thus  will  the  Lord's  Day  prove 


THE  CATECHISM.  143 

to  you  a  delight,  and  the  discharge  of  its  duties  your 
greatest  comfort  and  satisfaction.  Thus  will  you  as- 
suredly grow  in  grace,  and  in  favour  both  with  God 
and  man,  as  you  grow  in  age.  Thus  will  you  be  pre- 
pared for  Death  and  Judgment,  and  finally  be  admit- 
ted as  good  and  faithful  servants  into  the  kingdom  of 
Heaven, 

Let  us  Pray, 

O  God!  who  declarest  thy  Almighty  power 
chiefly  in  showing  mercy  and  pity,  mercifully  grant 
unto  us  such  a  measure  of  thy  grace,  that  we,  run- 
ning the  way  of  thy  Commandments ^  may  obtain  thy 
gracious  promises,  and  be  made  partakers  of  thy 
heavenly  treasure,  though  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord. 
Amen. 


LECTURE  IX. 


ON  THE    FIFTH  AND  FOLLOWING  COMMANDMENTS. 

I  PROCEED  now  to  explain  and  recommend 
to  your  most  serious  attention,  the  Laws  of  the  Se- 
cond Table,  or  those  which  relate  to  the  duties  which 
we  owe  to  our  fellow  creatures. 

The  first  Commandment  of  the  SecondTdhlo:,  or 
Xhtffth^  according  to  the  general  mode  of  number- 
ing them  is, 

*'  Honour  thy  Father  and  thy  Mother,  that  thy 
days  may  be  long  in  the  land  which  the  Lord  thy  God 
giveth  thee." 

This  promise  of  long  life  as  the  reward  of  obe- 
dience, though  particularly  addressed  to  the  Jews, 
and  refen'ing  to  the  land  of  Canaan,  which  was  to 
them  the  promised  land  of  rest  and  comfort,  and 
which  after  their  deliverance  from  Egyptian  bon- 
dage, and  journeying  through  the  wilderness  forty 
years,  they  took  possession  of,  as  the  promised  reward; 
though  at  that  time,  and  from  its  very  nature,  applica- 
ble only  to  the  Jews,  very  strikingly  implies,  that 


THE  CATECHISM.  U5 

the  Commmidment  enjoins  the  discharge  of  a  duty 
of  the  highest  importance  in  the  sight  of  God;  and 
which  will  ever  be  attended  with  his  blessing.  In- 
deed it  is  the  only  Commandment  to  which  the  pro- 
mise of  re  ward  is  added,  as  an  encouragement  or  in- 
ducement strictly  to  fulfil  it.  And  it  is  a  Command- 
ment which  should  be  particularly  attended  to  by  you, 
my  young  friends,  as  you  are  now  more  immediateh/ 
under  the  guidance  and  protection  of  your  parents, 
whose  happiness  and  comfort  through  life,  you  may 
very  much  promote  or  interrupt,  according  as  you 
comply  with  or  disobey  their  requests  and  injunctions; 
and  if  you  consider  but  a  moment,  that  they  can 
have  no  views  or  wishes  with  respect  to  you,  but  such 
as  may  tend  to  your  advantage  and  happiness — ^that 
their  affection  for  you,  their  experience  and  know- 
ledge of  the  world,  particularly  qualify  them  to  guide, 
advise,  and  direct  you — ^that  during  the  helpless  pe- 
riod of  infancy  and  early  life,  when  you  were  incapa- 
ble of  providing  for,  or  protecting  yourselves,  they 
watched  over  you  with  the  most  anxious  and  tender 
care,  and  have  conducted  you  so  far  on  the  journey 
of  human  life, — ^that  they  provide  not  only  food  and 
clothing  for  your  bodies,  but  are  anxious  to  improve 
and  polish  your  minds  by  Education,  that  you  may 
be  prepared  to  enter   into  society  as  men  of  respect- 


U6  LECTURES  ON 

ability  and  usefulness,  and  thereby  be  the  prop  and 
comfort  of  their  declining  years;  when,  I  say  you  con- 
sider these  powerful  inducements  to  an  affectionate 
and  respectful  submission  to  your  parents'  authority, 
you  must  be  convinced  of  the  propriety,  duty,  and 
necessity  of  always  honouring  and  obeying  them  with 
readiness,  with  cheerfulness,  and  with  fidelity. 

The  general  duty,  then,  enjoined  by  this  Co;«- 
mandment^  is,  that  all  persons  honour,  obey,  esteem, 
and  love  their  parents;  that  they  support,  relieve,  and 
succour  them  in  age  or  distress;  bear  with  their  in- 
firmities; supply,  if  possible,  their  wants;  and  be  de- 
ficient  in  no  act  of  grateful  attention  and  kindness 
which  it  is  in  their  power  in  any  part  of  their  lives  to 
pay  them.  "Honour  thy  parent,"  saith  Solomon, 
"and  forsake  him  not,"  &c.  And  though  this  Com- 
ttiandment  mentions  but  one  kind  of  superior,  "Ho- 
nour thy  Father  dind  Mother ^''^  y^t  its  spirit,  or  obli- 
gation applies  to  all  the  different  classes  of  inferiors 
to  their  superiors,  throughout  society;  because  this 
first  and  greatest  relation  to  our  natural  parents  is  the 
foundation  of  all  social  duties,  both  civil  and  sacred — 
To  our  ai;i/ parents,  the  persons  who  are  vested  with 
the  authority  of  governing  the  people,  of  enforcing 
the  administration  of  the  laws,  and  to  wliom  the 
Gospel  requires  us  to  be  subject  and  obedient,  i!s  unto 


IHE  CATKGHlblVl.  147 

"  powers  which  are  ordained  of  God"* —  To  our  pa- 
rents  in  sacred  things,  the  Ministers  of  the  Gospel, 
whom  we  are  required  to  *' esteem  very  highly  in 
love,  for  their  works'  sake,"t  and  to  obey  in  all  things 
which  they  show  to  be  our  duty — To  masters,  ser- 
vantsowe  fidelity,  diligence,  and  subjection;  andtoour 
superiors  of  any  other  kind,  whether  in  age  or  cir- 
cumstances, such  respect  and  honour,  as  the  nature 
of  their  relation  to  us,  and  the  reason  of  the  thing 
require. 

The  remaining  Commandments  are  so  simple,  clear, 
and  positive,  as  to  require  little  or  no  comment. 

The  Sixth  Co??ifnandment,  "  Thou  shalt  do  no 
murder,"  shows  us  our  duty  with  respect  to  the  pre- 
servation of  our  own  life,  and  the  lives  of  our  fellow 
mortals.  Murder  is  taking  away  a  person's  life  with 
design,  and  without  authority:  and  is  the  greatest 
crime  we  can  commit  (towards  one  another),  because 
it  is  not  to  be  remedied  when  once  committed;  and 
therefore  the  Gospel  forbids  not  only  murder  itself, 
but  all  actions,  passions,  and  affections  which  tend 
towards  it,  or  may  be  the  means  of  occasioning  it. 
All  hatred,  variance,  strife,  malice,  and  revenge  are 
ranked  among  those  things  which  will  exclude  men 
from  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven;   because  they  lead  to 


148  LECTURES  UN 

the  commission  of  such  acts  as  are  injurious  to  man, 
and  offensive  to  God. 

Under  the  prohibition  of  this  Commandment  is  to 
be  inchided  a  species  of  murder  of  the  most  atroci- 
ous kind:  viz.  suicide  or  self-murder:  and  this, 
perhaps,  more  frequently  occurs  in  society  than  the 
commission  of  murder  upon  others*.  And  thougli 
the  latter  can  in  no  respect  be  palliated  or  justified, 
the  former  appears  to  possess  the  highest  possible  de- 
gree of  turpitude,  as  being  a  more  deliberate  andimpi- 
ous  outrage  against  the  providence  and  administration 
of  God.  A  man  in  the  frenzy  of  rage  or  resentment 
may  commit  an  act  of  violence  against  another,  which 
in  the  calmer  moments  of  reflection  he  would  re- 
probate and  deplore.  Whereas,  absolutely  to  refuse 
to  comply  with  the  dispensations  of  Providence;  to 
extinguish  that  life  which  God  thought  proper  to 
give;  to  defy,  as  it  were,  his  Omnipotence;  to  resist 
his  Wisdom,  and  boldh'^  to  rush  into  his  immediate 
presence,  under  a  refusal  to  comply  with  his  will,  or 
that  arrangement  of  circumstances  which  he  has 
thought  proper  to  ordain  as  a  trial  of  our  faith  and  re- 
signation; and  to  preclude,  at  the  same  time,  thereby 
all  possibility  of  repentance  for  so  impious  an  act  of 
disobedience,  is  certainly  a  most  heinous  violation  of 
this  precept  of  the  Decalogue,  and  cannot  fail  to  incur 


THH  CA'i'ECHIS:\r.  U9 

the  highest  displeasure  of  the  Deity,  and  the  punish- 
ment consequent  thereupon. 

Another  species  of  murder  which  should  be  con- 
sidered as  under  the  prohibition  of  this  commandment^ 
is  that  which  frcqiientiy  occurs  from  the  shocking  and 
savage  practice  of  duelling — a  practice  hostile  to 
the  laws  of  God  and  man;  as  it  involves  the  voluntary 
disposal  of  our  own  lives,  and  the  intended  extinction 
of  that  of  others.  This  practice  is  peculiarly  disgrace- 
ful to,  and  criminal  in  persons  professing  Christianity, 
being  diametrically  opposed  to  the  general  tenor  of 
that  religion,  and  to  many  of  its  most  positive  precepts. 
We  are  commanded  "  to  let  all  bitterness,  and  wrath, 
and  anger,  and  clamour,  and  evil  speaking  be  put 
away  from  us,  with  all  malice."*  To  "forgive  men 
their  trespasses; '-f  To  ^4ove  our  enemies;"J  To  "re- 
compense no  man  evil  for  evil:"^  "Being  reviled,  to 
bless;"||  To"  be  kind  one  to  another,  tenderhearted, 
forgiving  one  another;'"^  with  many  more  of  similar 
import. 

As  the  sixth  Commandment  tends  to  guard  our 
neighbour's  person,  so  the  Seventh,  "Thou  shalt  not 
commit  adultery,"  proceeds  to  guard  his  tenderest 

*  Eph.  iv.  31.  t  Mark  xi.  25.  26.  1  Malt.  v.  44. 

§Rom.  xii.  17,  ijLukevi.  28.  f  Eph.  iv.  52. 


!  5D  LECTURES  UK 

and  closest  connexion  in  the  person  of  a  husband  or 
wife. 

As  marriage  is  the  closest  and  most  lasting  of  all 
human  connexions,  so  the  interruption  of  that  harmo- 
ny and  aftection  which  should  subsist  between  a  man 
and  his  wife,  being  broken  in  upon  and  destroyed 
by  the  commission  of  adultery,  its  mischief  being  of 
the  most  serious  and  fatal  kind,  and  involving  the 
most  dreadful  consequences,  is  justly  considered  to 
be  an  act  in  the  highest  degree  criminal  in  the  sight 
of  God. 

Tht  Eighth  Commandment^  "Thou  shalt  not  steal," 
commands  us  not  to  injure  our  neighbour  in  his  pro- 
perty; and  that,  not  only  by  taking  it  from  him,  xvith- 
out  his  knowledge^  which  is  properly  theft  or  stealings 
but  by  depriving  him  of  it  unjustly,  by  violence  or 
fraud.  All  deceit  in  trade,  with  regard  either  to  the 
value,  or  price  of  what  is  sold — all  extortion,  under 
pretence  oi power,  authority ,  or  law — all  advantages 
taken  from  the  necessities  of  others — all  refusals  to 
pay  just  de])ts — and  all  methods  of  detaining  from, 
others  what  tliey  have  a  right  to  demand — all  those 
wa^^s  by  which  we  either  gain  from  others  more  than 
we  ought  in  justice  and  equity  to  have,  or  keep  from 
them  what  they  have  a  right  to,  arc  as  injurious  to  our 
peiehhour.  and  as  offensive  to  Gnrl.  as  theft  itself:  and 


THE  CAiECHiSM.  L5i 

therefore,  in  order  to  prevent  this,  our  blessed  Lord 
has  given  us  an  infallible  rule  to  direct  us  in  all  these 
cases,  and  under  all  such  temptations,  which  is,  to 
'^  do  to  others  on  all  occasions  the  same  thing  which 
we  might  justly  require,  or  would  wish  them  to  do 
unto  us,  if  we  were  in  their  circumstances  and  they 
in  ours." 

The  Ninth  Commandment^  "  Thou  shalt  not  bear 
false  witness  against  thy  neighbour,"  is  particularly 
and  closely  connected  with  every  one  of  the  four 
which  immediately  precede,  or  go  before  it,  for  nei- 
ther our  duties  to  our  superiors,  to  our  inferiors, 
nor  to  our  equals,  could  be  practised,  if  they  were  left 
exposed  to  the  injuries  of  a  false  or  lying  tongue. 

This  Commandment  not  only  forbids  the  giving  of 
a  false  evidence  against  our  neighbour  in  a  court  of 
Justice,  but  the  shameful  and  disgraceful  practice  of 
lying  upon  any  occasion,  however  trifling  in  itself. 
This,  my  young  friends,  is  a  most  dreadful  vice,  and 
one  which,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  is  frequently  committed 
by  persons  of  your  age.  I  trust,  however,  that  you 
will  have  more  regard  both  for  your  own  characters 
among  men,  and  for  the  approbation  of  your  Heaven- 
ly Father,  who  not  only  knoweth  all  your  thoughts 
and  seeth  all  your  actions,  but  heareth  your  -words ^ 
and  will  re^vard  or  punish  you  ocrordingly  here  or 


i5:i  LECTURES  OS 

hereafter — ^}^^ou  will,  I  trust,  have  more  regard  for 
God,  for  your  fellow  creatures,  and  for  yourselves, 
than  ever  to  be  guilty  of  so  wicked  and  scandalous  a 
practice.  All  liars  when  fcui  d  out  (and  that  is  al- 
ways the  case  at  some  pe-  Icxl  or  other)  are  despised 
and  hated.  ''The  lip  of  truth,"  suith  Solomon,  "shall 
be  established  forever,  but  a  lying  tongue  is  but  for 
a  moment."*  Bewa.re,  therefore,  of  the  first  tempta- 
tion to,  or  beginning  of,  so  great  as  in;  for,  if  at  all  in- 
dulged, it  will  soon  grow  upon  you,  and  certainly 
bring  you  to  shame  and  punishment  here,  and  occa- 
sion misery  and  ruin  hereafter;  for,  "  into  Heaven," 
saith  St.  John,  "  shall  in  nowise  enter  whosoever 
speaketh  or  maketh  a  iie."t  '•'  Lying  lips  are  an  abo- 
mination to  the  Lord,  but  they  who  deal  truly"  on  all 
occasions,  or  speak  the  truth,  "  are  his  delight. "J 

The  Tenth  and  last  Commandment,  by  forbidding 
us  to  covet,  or  desire  any  thing  that  is  our  neigh- 
bour's, L.bsolutely  condemns  all  unjust  attempts  to 
deprive  him  of  Avhat  he  possesses. 

God  is  the  author  and  giver  of  all  things,  and  he 
requires  us  to  be  content  ^\  ith  what  his  providence  al- 
lots us.  He  is  infinitely  wise,  as  well  as  infinitely  good, 
and  best  knows  what  circumstances  are  suited  to  our 

*  Prov.  x.ii.  19.        t  Rev.  xxi.  27.        \  Prov.  xii.  22, 


THE  CATECHISM.  153 

characters  and  dispositions.  If  he  has  given  us  much, 
our  obligation  is  greater  to  provide  for  the  poor,  and 
perform  generous  actions — if  we  have  little,  wc 
should  submit  to  his  will,  and  be  content  with  that 
little;  knowing  that  this  life  continueth  but  a  little 
while — that  where  much  is  given,  much  will  be  re- 
quired of  us — and  that  we  must  give  an  account  in 
the  great  and  awful  day  of  Judgment,  of  the  talents 
committed  to  our  care. 

These  are  the  Com?nand?nents  which  God  gave  to 
the  Jews,  and  which  are  equally  binding  upon  us 
Christians,  as  they  contain  the  declaration  of  our  duty 
to  God,  and  our  duty  towards  our  neighbour:  and 
hence  you  very  properly  say  in  your  Catechism,  that 
you  learn  from  them,  or  are  taught  by  them,  those 
two  great  branches  of  your  duty.  That  your  "duty 
towards  God  is  to  believe  in  him,"  &c.  (see  Cate- 
chism) and  that  your  duty  towards  your  neighbour  is, 
"  to  love  him  as  yourself,"  &c.    {see  Catechism.) 

To  this  code  of  moral  law  given  to  the  Jews,  the 
son  of  God  himself,  when  he  appeared  upon  earth, 
added  another  Commandmoit^  expressly  indicative  of 
the  benevolent  genius  of  that  Religion  or  divine  Re- 
velation which  he  communicated,  the  leading  charac- 
ter of  which  is  Love. — "A  new    Commandmenty^ 

said  he,  **  I  give  unto  you,  that  ye  love  one  another; 

u 


154.  LFXTURES  ON 

by  this  shall  all  men  know  that  ye  are  my  diciples,  if 
ye  have  love  one  to  another."*  The  great  duty  of 
a  Christian,  therefore,  is  to  qualify  himself  for  admis- 
sion into  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven,  by  the  strict  and 
uniform  observance  not  only  of  all  the  precepts  of  the 
Jewish  moral  law,  but  to  regulate  his  thoughts,  words, 
and  actions,  by  the  new  commandment^  given  by  the 
great  Captain  of  our  Salvation,  Jesus  Christ:  and 
in  imitation  of  him,  to  embrace,  in  one  wide  wish  of 
universal  benevolence,  the  whole  human  race;  inva- 
riably to  act  towards  our  fellow  creatures,  as  we 
would  wish  them  to  act  towards  us,  under  an  ex- 
change of  situation  with  them;  and  uniformly  to  obey 
this  injunction  of  the  holy  Apostle  "  Let  all  bitter- 
ness, and  wrath,  and  anger,  and  clamour,  and  evil 
speaking,  be  put  away  from  you,  with  all  malice:  and 
be  ye  kind  one  to  another,  tender  hearted,  forgiving 
one  another,  even  as  God,  for  Christ's  sake,  hath 
forgiven  you."t 

These  short  rules  of  life  should  be  ever  present  to 
your  minds,  and  be  made  the  governing  principles 
of  your  conduct.  You  should,  therefore,  earnestly 
pray,  that  it  would  please  God  to  have  mercy  upon 
you,  and  to  write,  as  it  were,  all  these  his  laws  upoa 

*Johnxin.  34    35.  t  Eph.  iv.   31,32 


THE  CATECHISM.  155 

your  hearts,  that  you  may  obtain  his  favour  and  bles- 
sing; to  promote  your  comfort  and  happiness  both 
in  this  world  and  (which  is  of  infinitely  more  impor- 
tance) in  that  to  which  we  are  all  hastening,  where 
our  condition  will  be  happy  or  miserable,  according  as 
we  have  obeyed  or  disobeyed  the  Commandments  or 
Laws  of  God  here  upon  earth,  where  we  are  placed 
by  him  for  a  few  short,  yet  uncertain  years,  in  a  state 
of  trial,  with  the  clearest  information  of  our  duty,  and 
the  means  of  obtaining  eternal  life  and  happiness  here- 
after. 

"  Fear  God,"  therefore,  ''  and  keep  his  Command- 
ments, for  that  is  the  whole  duty  of  man.  For  God 
will  bring  every  work  into  judgment,  and  every  se- 
cret thing,  whether  it  be  good,  or  whether  it  be 
evil."^     . 

Let  us  pray. 

O  Almighty  Lord,  and  everlasting  God,  vouchsafe, 
we  beseech  thee,  to  direct,  sanctify,  and  govern,  both 
our  hearts  and  bodies  in  the  ways  of  thy  laws,  and  in 
the  works  of  thy  Commandments^  that  through  thy 
most  mighty  protection,  both  here  and  ever,  we  may 
be  preserved  in  body  and  soul,  through  our  Lord  and 
Saviour  Jesus  Christ. 

,  Amen. 

*  Eccles.  xil,  Lv.  14. 


LECTURE  X. 


ON    THE  LOUD  S  PRAYER. 


The  order  of  our  Catechism,  and  of  the  Lec- 
tures which  have  corresponded  thereto,  has  now 
brought  us  to  that  most  expressive  and  subUme  com- 
position, The  hordes  Prayer:  and  it  is  very  properly 
introduced  into  this  part  of  the  Catechism.  For,  ha- 
ving been  previously  instructed  in  the  nature,  or 
principles  of  the  Christian  Faith,  and  being  taught 
by  the  promises  made  in  your  behalf  at  Baptism,  by 
your  Sponsors,  as  well  as»  by  the  Ten  Command- 
ments, what  you  ought  as  Christians  to  believe^  what 
you  ought  to  avoid,  and  what  you  ought  to  do^  you 
must  be  convinced,  that  the  duties  which  God,  our 
almighty  Creator  enjoins  on  usy  his  rational,  depen- 
dent, and  accountable  creatures,  are  not  only  very 


LECTURES,  &:c.  lr,7 

important,  but  very  extensive.  And  that,  therefore  the 
utmost  and  most  constant  exertion  and  diligence  are 
necessaiy  on  our  parts,  in  order  to  discharge  these 
various  duties  so  as  to  render  ourselves  in  any  degree 
acceptable  to  God,  or  worthy  of  his  divine  favour. 
The  natural  coiTuption  or  depra\^ity  of  the  hu- 
man heart,  the  violence  of  our  passions,  which  are 
constantly  urging  us  to  the  commission  of  evil,  and 
the  w^eakncss  of  our  best  resolutions  against  such 
powerful  opposition,  render  some  extraordinary  spi- 
ritual assistance  necessary,  in  order  to  support  and 
comfort  us  during  our  pilgrimage  through  this  world. 
Our  best  efforts  are  so  feeble  that  they  require  some 
preternatural  aid  to  enable  us  to  go  on  in  our  chris- 
tian course  of  virtue  and  of  piety,  conquering  our 
evil  propensities  or  desires,  and  purifying  our  hearts 
to  such  a  degree  of  excellence  as  will  qualify  us, 
through  the  merits  and  intercession  of  our  blessed 
Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  for  admission  into  the  King- 
dom of  Heaven,  and  association  there  with  Saints 
and  Angels.  This  assistance  has  been  mercifully  of- 
fered to  us  in  the  influence  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  or  Ho- 
ly Spirit  of  God,  upon  our  hearts:  but,  as  we  are 
created  free  agents,  or  possessed  of  the  power  of  re- 
fusing or  following  good  or  evil,  this  heavenly  assist- 
ance must  be  solicited,  or  asked  for,  by  us,  before 


158  LECTURES  ON 

we  can  enjoy  its  benefit.  "  Ask,"  says  our  divine 
Instructor,  "  and  ye  shall  have;  seek,  and  ye  shall 
find;  knock,"  as  it  were  at  the  gate  of  Heaven  "  and  it 
shall  be  opened  unto  you."* 

Hence  arises  the  great  duty  oi  Prayer;  by  which 
is  meant  the  raising  up,  or  addressing  of  our  thoughts 
and  desires  to  God  as  the  Author  and  Giver  of  all 
good.  And  that  we  are  permitted  and  enabled  to  do 
this  is  certainly  a  very  high  privilege,  or  advantage. 
That  such  sinful,  unworthy  creatures  as  i^e'are,  should 
be  permitted  to  approach  in  spirit,  the  majesty  of  the 
infinitely  perfect  God,  the  source  of  purity  and  perfec- 
tion, the  Creator  and  Governor  of  the  Universe,  is  a 
blessing  and  consolation  which  one  would  suppose 
every  human  being  who  has  had  the  advantage  of  re- 
ligious instruction,  would  gladly  avail  himself  of  and 
embrace.  Our  blessed  Saviour,  therefore,  hath  left 
us  a  form  of  Prayer  (which  is  on  that  account  called 
the  Lord's  Prayer)  containing  the  substance  of  all 
other  Prayers,  and  whijch  is  to  serve  as  a  model,  or 
pattern  for  us  in  forming  our  petitions  to  God. 
"  Lord,"  said  his  disciples  to  him,  when  he  was  up- 
on earth,  "  teach  us  to  pray." t  In  compliance  with 
which  request,  he  dictated  to  them  this  address: 

*  Matt.  vii.  7.  t  Luke.  xi.   \. 


THE  CATECHISM.  159 

"  Our  Father  who  art  in  heaven,"  &c.  This 
Prayer  is  itself  so  clear  and  intelhgible,  as  to  require 
no  explanation;  being  accommodated  to  the  plainest 
and  most  unimproved  understanding:  I  shall,  howe- 
ver, in  order  to  impress  it  more  forcibly  upon  your 
minds,  comment  a  little  upon  the  several  parts  of  it. 

It  begins  with  the  endearing  and  affectionate  ap- 
pellation of 

"  Our  Father^  who  art  in  heaven:"  in  which  few 
words  are  contained  the  chief  reasons  for  which  we 
ought  to  pray  to  God,  and  to  him  only;  and  the  dis- 
positions vnih  which  we  ought  to  discharge  this  duty. 
He  is  our  Father^  as  "  having  created  all  things,  and 
made  us,'*''  in  particular,  "  and  not  we  ourselves; "f 
He  is  our  Father,  as  having  preserved  and  supported 
us  with  a  paternal  affection;  shice  it  is  by  him  *'  that 
we  have  been  holden  up,"  or  supported,  "  ever  since 
we  w*ere  born;"J  it  is  he  "  who  hath  fed,"  (or  supplied 
us  with  sustenance)  "  all  our  lives  long  unto  this  day.  "5 
And  he  is  our  Father  in  a  more  particular  manner, 
as  Christians,  since  in  the  language  of  the  Apostle, 
"  he  hath  begotten  us  again  to  a  lively  hope,"  (  of  im- 
mortality and  eternal  happiness)  '*  by  the  Resurrec- 
tion of  Jesus  Christ  from  the  dead,"||  and  has  by  him 

IPs],  c.  2.     t  Psl.  Ixxi.  6.     §  Gen.  xlviii.  15.     j)  I  Pet.  xi.  3 


160  LECTURES  OX 

called  us  to  be,  by  adoption,  the  *^  sons  of  God,"* 
and  made  us  meet  to  be  **  partakers  of  the  inheri- 
tance with  the  Saints  in  Light,  "f  So  that  the 
words  Our  Father  express,  not  only  the  absolute  au- 
thority, but  the  unspeakable  goodness  of  God;  and 
the  following,  "  who  art  in  Heaven,"  acknowledge 
his  glory  and  power.  By  his  being  in  Heaven,  is  not 
meant  his  being  confiiied  to  that  place,  but  dis- 
playing his  glory  there  in  the  most  conspicuous  man- 
ner. He  is  present  in  all  places  as  well  as  there. 
*'  The  eyes  of  the  Lord,"  (saith  Solomon,  the  wisest 
of  men)  *'  are  in  every  place,  beholding  the  evil 
and  the  good;  "J  but  he  has  chosen  Heaven  to  be  his 
Throne,  where  he  more  particularly  displays  his  glo- 
ry to  blessed  and  purified  Spirits;  where  he  receives 
the  adorations  of  Angels  and  Archangels;  where  our 
blessed  Lord  resides  as  our  Mediator,  till  the  dissolu- 
tion of  all  things:  and  where  his  faithful  servants  among 
men  shall  be  eternally  and  perfectly  happy  in  the 
know^ledge  and  enjoyment  of  his  perfections.  So  that 
we  should  address  him  with  axve  and  reverence  as  the 
Majesty  of  Heaven;  and  with  hope,  trust,  and  confi- 
dence, as  the  Almighty  Father^  who  hath  created, 
preserved,  and  redeemed  us. 

*  1  John,  iii.  1.  t  Col.  i.    12.  \  Prov.  xv.  3. 


THE  CATECiirSM.  161 

The  Petition  which  immediately  follows,  is,  "  Hal- 
lowed be  thy  name." 

The  name  of  God,  means  here,  God  himself:  and 
to  hallow  his  name,  signifies  to  think  of  him  as  a  Ho- 
ly Being,  and  behave  towards  him  accordingly — or, 
in  other  words,  to  pray  that  it  would  please  God  to  ex^ 
tend  the  knowledge  of  himself,  the  only  true  God,'to  all 
mankind;  that  every  mouth  may  confess,  and  every 
tongue  adore  and  praise  him;  and  that  it  would  please 
him  to  assist  and  enable  us,  to  whom  he  has  vouch- 
safed that  knowledge,  ever  to  retain  awful  and  just 
sentiments  of  his  Divine  Majesty;  to  treat  whatever 
is  immediately  connected  with  him,  his  Word,  his 
Sacraments,  his  Ministers,  his  Temple,  with  the  at- 
tention and  respect  which  are  due  to  them,  on  account 
of  that  relation:  and  that  we  may  indulge  ourselves 
in  nothing  either  in  thought,  word,  or  deed,  which 
may  blaspheme  or  profane,  or  by  our  bad  example 
tempt  others  to  profane  or  blaspheme,  instead  of  sanc- 
tifying that  Holy  Name,  by  which  we  are  called  the 
sons  of  God.  This  is  the  way,  and  the  only  way 
possible  for  us  truly  to  honour  him,  and  to  be  truly 
good  and  happy;  happy  in  oiu'selves,  and  in  each 
other ;  in  the  present  world,  and  in  that  which  is  to 
come. 


162  LFXrURES  ON 

How  shocking,  bow  impious,  how  daring  a  vio- 
lation of  this  positive  command  of  Almighty  God,  is 
committed  by  those  inconsiderate,  unprincipled  mor- 
tals, who  presume  to  insult  the  Majesty  of  Heaven, 
and  blaspheme  the  sacred  name  of  their  Divine  Crea- 
tor, by  prqfa?ie  swearing ytiihcr  when  undtT  the  influ- 
ence of  passion,  or  in  familiar  conversation;  frequent- 
ly imprecating  the  vengeance  of  Omnipotence,  and 
swearing  by  The  Most  High  God,  upon  the  most 
trivial  occasions! 

Beware,  I  beseech  you,  of  this  heinous  crime. 
Be  not  seduced  by  evil  example:  but  wisely,  resolute- 
1}",  piously,  determine  never  to  mention  the  name  of 
God,  but  with  the  most  profound  reverence  and  awe.-* 

The  next  Petition  is, 

"  Thy  Kingdom  come;"  where  by  God's  King- 
dom  is  chiefly  meant,  the  Gospel  of  Christ,  or  the  pro- 
fession of  that  Holy  Religion  which  is  taught  us  by 
his  blessed  Son  in  the  Gospel.  God  indeed  does 
and  must  forever  reign  with  absolute  and  supreme 
authority  as  Lord  and  Governour  of  every  thing  that 
he  has  made;  and  "  he  hath  created  all  tilings,  and 
for  his  pleasure  they  arc,  and  were  created."!     We 

*  For  a  fuller  cliscusion  of  this  subject,  sec  Lecture  on 
3d  Com?nandt)Knfj'pi\'^{i  80. 
t  Rev.  iv.  IK 


THE  •CATEclK^M.  i03 

must,  therefore,  be  understood,  in  this  petition,   to 
pray  for  the  coming  of  his  Kingdom,  as  it  signifies 
his  reigning   in  the  minds  and  hearts  of  those  who 
profess  his  Gospel;  in  which  sense,  his  kingdom  nei- 
ther is,  nor  ever  will  be,  fully  come;   till  the  linal 
consummation  of  all  things.   As  then  we  pray  in  the 
former  petition,  that  God  may  be  duly  honoured  and 
obeyed  in  generaly  we  here  pray  that  this  honour  may 
be  paid  to  him  by  the  profession  and  practice  of  his 
true  religion,  agreeably  to  the  knowledge  imparted, 
and  the  precepts  contained  in  the  last  Revelation  of 
himself  and  his  divine  will  to  man;  that  it  would  please 
him  to  extend  the  knowledge   of  his  Gospel  to  all 
the  world;  that "  the  earth  may  be  filled  with  the  know- 
ledge of  it,  as  the  waters  cover  the  seas."^   We  pray 
that  it  would  please  him  to  recal  his  ancient  and  cho- 
sen people  (the  Jews),  as  well  as  the  Heathen,  to  his 
true  Faith,  so  that  the  whole  world   **  may  become 
one  fold,  under   one  Shepherd,   Jesus   Christ   our 
Lord;"t  that  all  the  kingdoms  of  the  world  may  be- 
come the  Kingdoms  of  the  Lord  (in  belief  and  prac- 
tice)  and  of  his    Christ."J     And  with  regard  to  us, 
who  already  do,  or  those  who  hereafter  -shall,  profess 

*  Heb.  ii.  14.      f  Collect  fdr  Good  Friday.     |  Ke^^  xi.  15. 


iG^  LECTURES  ON 

his  Gospel,  we  pray,  that  he  may  reign  in  the  heart,  as? 
well  as  in  the  mouth  of  every  member  of  his  Church 
tliroughout  the  world,  that  "  all  who  profess,  and  call 
themselves  Christians,  may  be  led  into  the  way 
of  truth,  and  hold  the  Faith  in  unity  of  Spirit  in  the 
bond  of  peace,  and  in  righteousness  of  life;"*  and 
that  when  he  shall  thus  have  fully  established  his 
spiritual  Kingdom  upon  earth,  it  would  please  him 
to  hasten  the  coming  of  his  eternal  Kingdom  in  Hea- 
ven, that  ''  we,  and  all  those  who  shall  have  departed 
this  life  in  tlie  true  Faith  of  his  holy  name,  may  have 
our  perfect  consummation  and  bliss  both  in  body  and 
soul,  in  his  eternal  and  everlasting  glory,"t  when 
"  the  righteous  shall  shine  forth,  as  the  Sun,  in  the 
Kingdom  of  their  Heavenly  Father;  "$  even  that  king- 
dom which  was  prepared  for  them  from  the  foundation 
of  the  world,  *'  and  shall  reign  wijth  him  in  it  forever 
andever."^ 

That  this  may  be  our  happy  case,  may  God,  of 
his  infinite  mercy  grant,  through  the  merits  and  in- 
tercession of  his  blessed  Son  Jesus  Christ,  our  Divine 
Mediator;  to  whom,  with  the  Father,  and  the  Holy 

•  Prayer  for  all  conditions  of  men. 

t  Prayer  in  Burial  service.     \  Matt.  13.  43.     §  Rev.  xxii.5. 


TliE  CATECHISM.  165 

Ghost  he  ascribed,  as  most  justly  due,  all  might,  ma- 
jesty, adoration,  and  praise,  henceforth  and  forever! 

Amen. 

The  remaining  Petitions  of  this  admirable  Pray- 
er, I  shall  consider  in  my  next  Lecture. 


LECTURE  XL 


ON   THE   lord's    TRAYEK. 

The  consideration  of  the  two  first  Petitions  in  the 
Lord^s  Prayer  formed  the  substance  of  my  last  address 
to  you:  I  now  beg  your  attention  to  such  observations 
as  I  shall  offer  upon  those  which  follow;  the  first  of 
which  is, 

*'  Thy  will  be  done  on  earth  as  it  is  in  Heaven." 
By  this  portion  of  the  Prayer  we  are  reminded  of 
the  terms  upon  which  we  are  to  obtain  admission  into 
the  Kingdom  of  Heaven:  viz, — obedience  to  the  will 
of  God,  or,  in  other  words,  as  we  pray  in  the  Jirst  pe- 
tition that  all  men  may  truly  know  God  and  his  attri- 
butes, and  truly  worship  and  honour  him;  and  in  the 
second  that  all  may  profess  his  true  religion,  and  final- 
ly reap  the  rewards  of  it;  so  in  this  thirdy  our  petition 


THE  CATECHISM.  16/ 

is,  that  all  may  act  conformably  to  tliat  knowledge  and 
that  profession,  by  approaching  as  near  as  may  be  to 
the  practice  of  the  '^  heavenly  hosts,"  those  ministers 
of  God  "  who  in  all  things  do  his  pleasure."*  Not 
that  we  here  pray  to  be  enabled  to  arrive  at  their  per- 
fection here  upon  earth;  this  our  present  state  and  in- 
firmities will  not  permit:  but  we  desire  to  be  brought 
as  near  to  it  as  our  faculties  and  capacities,  aided  by 
Divine  Grace,  can  advance  us.  As  they  readily,  con- 
stantly, and  cheerfully,  execute  his  commands,  so  we 
pray  that  we  may  be  enabled  to  imitate  those  dispo- 
sitions, and  transcribe  that  readiness,  constancy,  and 
cheerfulness,  into  our  own  practice;  well  knov/ing  that 
not  '*  every  one  who  merely  saith  unto  Christ,  Lord! 
Lord!"  or  professes  to  believe  his  Gospel  **  shall  en- 
ter into  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven,  but  he  who  doeth 
the  will  of  his  Father  who  is  in  Heaven, "f  or,  in  other 
words,  who  obeyeth  his  Commandment s»  Now,  the  will 
of  God  consists  in  these  two  things:  1st,  That  we  per- 
form faithfully  what  he  hath  commanded  us:  2dly, 
That  we  submit  with  pious  resignation  to  every  dis- 
pensation of  his  Providence. 

«  Thy  will  be  done." 

As  God  is  infinitely  just  and  wise,  so  also  is  he 
infinitely  good:  he  desircth  not  the  death  of  a  sinner, 

*  Psl.  ciii  21 .        t  Matt.  vii.  2 1 . 


168  LECTURES  ON 

but  that  all  men  should  be  converted  to  the  practice 
of  true  holiness,  and  thereby  be  qualified  for  the  en- 
joyment of  eternal  happiness  in  Heaven.  His  laws 
are  all,  therefore,  calculated  for  our  benefit,  and  conse- 
quently for  his  glory;  and  are  all  laid  down  in  the  Gos- 
pel, in  terms  so  clear  and  express  that  they  cannot  be 
mistaken.  They  constitute  his  written  will;  and  his 
providential  will  is  no  less  clear  and  intelligible. 
Hence  to  do  the  will  of  God,  is  in  its  second  sense  to 
bear  with  patient  submission,  the  unavoidable  evils  of 
life,  firmly  believing  that  they  must  be  meant  for  our 
benefit:  otherwise,  that  God  who  loves  us  with  pater- 
nal tenderness,  who  hath  commanded  us  to  call  him 
"  Our  Father,'*  and  hath  repeatedly  declared,  that  the 
possession  of  real,  perfect,  eternal  happiness,  is  the  end 
for  which  we  were  created,  would  certainly  never  per- 
mit them  to  befal  us.  Afflictions,  my  young  friends, 
are  blessings  in  disguise,  sent  to  draw  off  our  affections 
from  the  things  of  this  world,  and  to  show  us  their  in- 
ability to  make  us  truly  happy;  thereby  to  fix  our  af- 
fections on  things  above,  even  on  Heaven,  where  alone 
true  joys  are  to  be  found.  **  God  dealeth  with  us  as 
with  sons,  for  what  son  is  he  whom  the  father  chas- 
teneth  not;"*  "  and  though  no  chastening"  saith  the 
apostle  Paul,  "  for  the  present  seemeth  to  bje  joyous 

^-  Heb,  xii.  7. 


THE  CATEGiilS:>I.  1 69 

but  grievous,  nevertheless  afterwards  it  worketh  the 
peaceable  fruits  of  righteousness  to  those  who  are  ex- 
ercised thereby."*  {L  e,  )  to  those  who  receive  it  with- 
out murmuring,  and  rightly  consider  the  end  of  its  in- 
fliction. 

The  next  petition  is, 

'*  Give  us  this  day,"  or,  day  by  day  *'  our  dai- 
ly bread;"  by  which,  if  the  words  be  token  in  a  literal 
sense,  is  meant  whatsoever  is  necessary  towards  the 
support  of  our  existence  her^,  and  our  comfortable  ac- 
commodation in  that  state  or  condition  of  life,  in  which 
it  hath  pleased  God  to  place  us.     Thus  understood, 
the  daily  use  of  this  petition  should  excite  in  us  a  con- 
stant sense  of  our  dependence  upon,  and  a  lively  and 
pious  trust  in,  our  Heavenly  Father,  that  *'  God  who 
hath  fed  us  all  our  lives  long  unto  this  day."t     And 
this  sense  of  want  in  ourselves  which  calls  for  a  sup- 
ply of  daily  bread,  ought  to  lead  us  to  perform  acts  of 
kindness  and  charity  to  our  fellow  men,  who,  posses- 
sing the  same  nature  and  wants  as  we,  may  not  have 
been  blessed  by  Providence  with  so  large  a  provision 
for  their  support.     We  are  also  reminded  by  it  of  the 
shortness  and  uncertainty  of  human  life;  that  wc  are 
but   creatures  of  a  day,  and  that  the  Author  of  our 
existence  hath  not  permitted  us  to  ask  for  provision 

*  Heb.  x)L  11.  t  Gon,  xlviii.  15. 


170  LECTURES  OX 

but  from  day  to  day,  lest  \vc  should  forget  that  we  are 
mortal,  and  make  no  provision  for  that  future  and  eter- 
nal state  of  existence  to  which  we  are  all  hastening. 
When,  therefore:,  we  feel  the  necessity  of  providing 
for  this  frail,  and  perishing  body,  we  should  recollect 
the  infinitely  greater  necessity  of  providing  sustenance 
for  the  soul;  and  pray  that  God  would  give  us  not  on- 
ly temporal,  but  spiritual  bread,  that  bread  of  life,  that 
blessed  influence  of  his  Holy  Spirit  which  he  hath 
promised  to  give  to  all  who  ask  it,  and  which  alone  is 
able  to  nourish  us  unto  all  goodness  and  enable  us  so 
to  do  his  will  in  this  life,  that  we  may  finally  attain  his 
heavenly  promises. 

This  interpretation  of  the  petition  is,  by  some  of 
tlie  Fathers,  or  primitive  ecclesiastical  writers,*  and 
many  learned  modern  commentators,  supposed  to  be 
its  true  meaning.  "  It  may  be  observed,"  says  Dr. 
Vicesimus  Knox  in  his  Considerations  on  the  Lord's 
Supper, ''  that  the  bread  prayedfor  in  the  Lord's  Pray- 
er is  the  bread  which  Christ  speaks  of  w^hen  he  says, 
"  I  am  the  bread  of  life;" f  and  signifies  that  divine 
influence  on  the  soul  of  man  which  feeds  and  sustains 
the  Christian  life,     Give  us  this  day  the  Bread  of 

*  Jerome,  Athanasius,  Cyril    of  Alexandria,  Cyprian,  Tertul- 

lian,  Aii^iistin,  and  many  others. 

■r  Joh-        ' 


THE  CATEjQHISM. 

Life,  the  bread  necessary  to  our  spiritual  existence: 
(L  e.)  vouchsafe  unto  us  nourishment  to  our  souls,  the 
influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit;  without  which,  though 
our  animal  part  may  vegetate,  we  are  assured  by  thy 
Son  our  Saviour,  there  is  no  life  in  us;  none  of  that 
life  which  assimilates  us  to  the  divine,  and  through 
thy  mercy  will  conduct  us  to  life  eternal.  Therefore 
wc  beseech  thee  to  feed  us  with  such  food,  this  day 
and  every  day. 

"  It  appears  to  me,"  continues  Dr.  Knox,  **  that 
this  mode  of  interpretation  adds  greatly  to  the  sublim- 
ity and  significancy  of  the  Lord's  Prayer." 

Bishop  Pearce,  in  his  remarks  on  this  passage, 
says,  "  The  sense  given  to  the  words  daili/  bread  by 
Athanasius  and  Jerome  seems  to  be  the  more  proba- 
ble, because  no  other  part  of  this  Prayer  has  any  rela- 
tion to  a  bodilt/  want,  and  this  sense  of  the  word  comes 
most  naturally  after  the  other  petitions." 

I  think,  therefore,  it  would  be  proper  to  attach 
both  these  interpretations  to  the  Petition;  thus,  '^  Give 
us  this  day  our  daily  bread,"  spiritual SiS  well  as  ma- 
teriaL 

By  the  next  Petition,  "  Forgive  us  our  trespas- 
ses as  we  forgive  those  who  trespass  against  us,"  we 
are  taught  to  ask  forgiveness  of  our  sins,  only  on  this 
condition,  that  we  forgive  all  others  who  have  injured, 


irJ  LECTURES  OX 

or  trespassed  against  us.  Not  that  we  are  to  beg  for- 
giveness of  our  sins  with  respect  to  their  extent  and 
degree,  only  as  we  forgive  others,  for  that  would  be 
putting j^w^V^  upon  a  level  with  infinite — but  the  con- 
dition is  to  be  understood  as  to  our  sincerity:  forgive 
us  our  trespasses  with  the  same  sincerity,  or  forbear- 
ance of  wrath  and  punishment,  as  we  forgive  those  who 
trespass  against  us:  and  in  no  other  way  are  we  perr 
niitted  by  the  Gospel  to  expect  it;  "  for,"  said  our 
blessed  Saviour  to  the  multitude,  immediately  after 
dictatingto  them  the  prayer  we  are  considering,  **  if  ye 
forgive  not  men  their  trespasses,  neither  will  your 
Heavenly  Father  forgive  your  trespasses;"*  *'  forgive, 
therefore,  and  ye  shall  be  forgiven."! 

This  forgiveness,  however,  does  not  imply  a  tame 
submission  to  every  insult  and  injury  which  is  offered 
to  us:  it  does  not  prevent  the  just  punishments  of  the 
law  upon  offenders  against  the  peace  and  happiness  of 
society;  or  of  individuals  against  the  unreasonable  or 
improper  conduct  of  those  who  trespass  upon  the  prin- 
ciples of  morality,  decency,  and  good  orden  God  is 
a  God  of  justice  as  well  as  mercy;  and  anger  founded 
on  justice,  differs  widely  from  that  which  arises  only 
from  the  violence  of  passion:  the  one  is  guided  by  rea- 
son, the  other  guided  by  the  unbounded  freedom  of 

*  M:  tt.   vi.    1  5.  t  Ijike  vi.  S?'. 


THE  CATECHISM.  irs 

an  impetuous  temper.  "  Be  ye  angry,"  saith  St.  Paul, 
"  and  sin  not."*  We  may  justly  be  offended  at  the 
fault  of  another,  but  should  never  entertain  personal 
hatred,  or  attempt  to  punish  an  offence  in  a  way  that 
is  inconsistent  with  sound  reason,  or  the  spirit  and  pre- 
cepts of  the  Gospel. 

The  Sixth  and  last  Petition  is, 

"  And  lead  us  not  into  temptation  but  deliver  us 
from  evil,"  which  means  our  desire  that  it  would 
please  our  Heavenly  Father,  either  to  order  things  so 
by  his  good  providence,  as  not  to  permit  us  to  fall  in- 
to great  temptations,  or  trials  of  our  virtue,  or  spiritu- 
al strength;  or  else  to  enable  us  by  his  holy  Spirit  to 
overcome  them,  and  thereby  deliver  us  from  all  the 
wiles  and  snares  of  the  Devil,  the  deceits  of  the  World, 
and  the  lusts  of  the  Flesh,  or,  the  evil  propensities  of 
our  corrupt  and  fallen  nature;  from  the  dreadful  evil 
of  wilfully  transgressing  his  Commandments^  and  con- 
sequently  from  the  miseries  of  those  temporal  and  eter- 
nal punishments  which  are  due  to  such  transgressions. 

This  excellent  Prayer  very  properly  concludes 
with  an  acknowledgment  or  confession  of  our  belief 
in  those  divihe  attributes  or  properties  of  God,  on 
which  all  our  prayers  should  be  founded.  "  For  thine 
is  the  Kingdom,  the  Power,  and  the   Glory  forever 

*Eph.iv.  26. 


1/4  LECTURES  ON 

an-i  ever.  Amen.^''  His  is  the  Kingdom  or  government 
over  all  the  wide-extended  Universe;  he  alone  has  a 
sovereign  right  and  authority  to  dispose  of  us,  and  of 
what  we  have,  as  he  pleases;  and  therefore  we  address 
ourselves  in  prayer  to  him.  He  alone  can  hear  the 
words  of  our  lij^s,  and  look  into  the  thoughts  of  our 
hearts  at  all  times,  and  in  all  places;  and  he  alone  has 
power,  in  all  possible  cases,  to  grant  us  what  we  ask. 
To  him  alone  is  due  the  honour  and  glory  of  whatever 
we  are,  or  have,  or  do;  and  therefore,  to  him  must 
be  given  all  praise  and  thanksgiving  for  the  same;  for 
his  power  reacheth,  and  his  glory  cxtendeth  fromever- 
lasting  to  everlasting. 

The  word  Amen,  which  signifies  so  be  it,  is  ad- 
ded to  this  and  our  other  prayers,  to  signify  that  we 
sincerely  and  heartily  wish  the  accomplishment  of 
those  things  which  we  have  asked  for,  if  God  in  his  in- 
finite wisdom  should  see  that  they  are  fit  and  proper 
for  us. 

Upon  the  whole  then,  it  will,  1  trust,  be  evident 
to  you,  that  the  meaning  of  this  Prayer  is  properly  ex- 
plained by  the  Church  in  her  clear  and  comprehen- 
sive answer  to  the  next  question  in  the  Catechism;  rzr. 
**  What  desirest  thou  of  God  in  this  Prayer?"  Where- 
in it  is  declared  in  the  beginning,  that  we  acknow- 
ledge our  Heavenly  Father  to  be  '*  our  Lord  God  the 


THE  CATECHISM.  175 

giver  of  all  goodness;"  and,  in  the  first  three  petitions 
we  desire  him  to  *'  send  his  grace  unto  us  and  to  all 
people,  that  we  may  worship  him,  serve  him,  and 
obey  him  as  we  ought  to  do."  In  the  fourth  petition, 
we  "  pray  unto  God  to  give  us  all  things  which  are 
needful  both  for  our  souls  and  bodies;"  in  the  fifth  and 
sixth  **  that  he  will  be  merciful  unto  us,  and  forgive 
us  our  sins;  and  that  it  will  please  him  to  save  and  de- 
fend us  from  all  dangers,  both  of  soul  and  body," 
which  may  lead  us  into  sin;  or,  m  other  words,  <'  that 
he  would  keep  us  from  all  sin  and  wickedness,  and 
from  our  spiritual  enemy,  and  from  everlasting  death." 
And  lastly,  by  adding  this  word  Amen  we  declare 
our  trust,  **  that  he  will  of  his  mercy  and  goodness, 
through  the  mediation,  and  for  the  sake  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,"  do  what  we  ask,  in  case  it  be  really  for 
our  good,  of  which  he  only  is  the  proper  Judge:  and 
we  therefore  use  this  word  as  implying  both  our  own 
sincerity  in  offering  up  our  prayers,  and  our  submis- 
sive dependance  upon  him  to  grant  them. 

Such,  my  young  friends,  is  the  extensive  and 
forcible  meaning  of  this  comprehensive  form  of  Pray- 
er; which  being  dictated  by  the  Divine  Author  of  our 
Holy  Religion,  should  certainly  be  held  in  the  highest 
estimation  by  us,  as  superior  to  all  other  Prayers. 
Hence,  it  is  generally  used  by  Christians  as  the  con^ 


176  LECTURES  ON 

elusion,  or  summing  up  of  all  their  addresses  to  the 
Deitv.  And  when  you  consider  that  Prayer  is  the 
immediate  channel  or  means  by  which  we  have  the 
privilege  of  supporting  an  intercourse  with  the  great 
and  Almighty  Author  of  our  being,  who  hath  point- 
ed it  out  as  the  way  for  our  obtaining  both  temporal 
blessings,  and  Divine  Grace  to  enable  us  to  purify 
ourselves  in  this  world,  (this  state  of  trial  ordisciphne), 
that  we  may  be  fitted  for  admission  into  the  Kingdom 
of  Heaven — when,  I  say,  you  consider  the  great  ob- 
jects for  which  Prayer  was  appointed,  and  by  which 
we  are  to  be  made  wise  unto  salvation,  I  trust  you 
will  make  it  the  daily  and  constant  exercise  of  your 
lives.  "  Pray  w^ithout  ceasing,"*  says  the  apostle; 
that  is,  without  suffering  the  pursuits  and  false  plea- 
sures of  this  world  to  divert  your  attention  from  the 
interests  of  your  immortal  souls. 

"  Prayer  ardent,"  says  the  pious  and  sublime 
Dr.  Young — 

'*  Prayer  ardent  opens  Heaven,  lets  down  a  stream 
"  Of  glory  on  the  consecrated  hour 
"  Of  man  in  audience  with  the  Deity." 

Night  Thoughts,  B.  8. 


I  Thes.  V.  17. 


IHK  CATECHIHM.  Ur 

And  how  delightful  the  employment,  how  sub- 
lime, how  rapturous  the  intercourse,  how  inestima- 
ble the  privilege  to  hold  high  converse  with  our  God; 
to  anticipate  the  homage, of  Heaven;  to  experience 
the  seniphic  comfort  of  true,  of  ardent  devotion; 
to  escape,  as  it  were,  from  the  fetters  of  humanity, 
and  to  soar  on  the  wings  of  Faith,  Hope,  and  holy  Joy, 
up  to  the  very  Throne  of  God,  and  to  unite  with  An- 
gels and  Archangels,  and  "  all  the  sanctities  of  Hea- 
ven," in  praising  and  adoring  the  Great  Supreme! 

Hence,  in  every  part  both  of  the  Old  and  New 
Testament,  the  great  duty,  comfort,  and  advantage  of 
Prayer  is  strikingly  inculcated.  Let  it  then  be  dili- 
gently attended  to,  and  earnestly  pursued  by  you,  and 
you  will  assuredly  find  that  *'  rest  unto  your  souls,"^ 
which  it  was  the  great  object  of  Christ's  descent  upon 
earth  to  procure  for  us,  and  to  administer  to  us. 

Let  us  pray, 

O  Almighty  God,  who  hast  promised  to  hear 
the  petitions  of  those  who  ask  in  thy  Son's  name,  we 
beseech  thee  mercifully  to  incline  thine  ears  to  the 
prayers  and  supplications  which  we  offer  unto  thee: 
and  grant,  that  those  things  which  we  have  faithfully 

*  Matt.  11.22 

'Z. 


W'S  LECTURES,  &c. 

asked  according  to  thy  will,  may  be  effectually  obtain- 
ed,  to  the  relief  of  our  necessities,  and  the  setting 
forth  of  thy  glory,  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord. 

Amen. 


LECTURE  Xir. 


ON  THE   SACRAMENT   OF  BAPTISM. 


The  principal  duties  which  we  owe  to  God,  to  our 
neighbour,  and  to  ourselves,  having  been  expla  ed 
to  you  in  the  former  part  of  the  Catechism,  (particu- 
larly in  the  Creed,  the  Lord's  Prayer,  and  the  Ten 
Commandments),  our  Church  concludes  that  admira- 
ble form  of  sound  words,  by  instructing  you  in  the 
naure  of  those  two  important  means  of  obtaining  Di- 
vJie  Grace,  which  Christ  hath  most  positively  enjoin- 
ed on  all  the  professors  of  his  Holy  Religion.  These 
are  the  two  Sacraments  of  our  Church — Baptism  and 
The  hordes  Supper,  And  inasmuch  as  these  two  or- 
dinances were  instituted  immediately  by  our  blessed 
Saviour,  for  the  comfort  and  advantage  of  his  disci- 
ples, to  the  end  of  the  world,  our  obligation  to  con- 
form to  them  is  of  the  most  serious  and  unquestiona- 
ble nature.     He  hath  not  burdened  his  religion  with. 


iSg  LiXTLKKS  ON 

many  ceremonies;  these  two  being  all  ^vhich  can  be 
proved  by  Scripture  to  be  of  divine  appointment. 
Hence  our  Church,  in  answer  to  the  question  "  How 
many  Sacraments  hath  Christ  ordained  in  his 
Church?"  says,  *'  Two  only  as  generally  necessary  to 
Salvation:  that  is  to  say,  Baptism,  and  the  Supper  of 
the  Lord."  They  are  said  to  be  generally  necessary 
to  Salvation,  because  they  are  necessary  to  those,  and 
to  those  only,  who  have  it  in  their  power  to  partake  of 
them.  Not  that  our  blessed  Lord,  w^ho  will  judge 
the  world  in  equity,  will  condemn  all  the  Heathen, 
or  others  who  have  never  heard  of  his  name, 
for  not  partaking  of  those  Sacraments  w^hich  never 
came  to  their  knowledge,  or  that^  he  will  condemn 
innocent  children  w^ho  die  unbaptized;  but  that  all  we 
to  whom  the  knowledge  of  these  Institutions  is  cone, 
and  who  have  it  in  our  power  to  partake  of  them,  ai^ 
indispensably  obliged  to  do  so,  upon  pain  of  forfeit- 
ing our  tide  to  that  Salvation  which  he  has  purchased 
for  us.  And  as,  on  the  one  hand,  those  who  are  not 
baptized  have  no  just  claim  to  the  very  name  of  Chris- 
tians, much  less  to  the  privileges  of  the  Christian 
Covenant,  into  w^hich  they  thus  refuse  to  enter;  so  on 
the  other  hand,  for  those  who  are  incorporated  into 
his  Church,  and  profess  to  believe  and  obey  Christ, 
for  them  to  suffer  their  life  to  glide  on  in  the  open  dis- 


THE  CATECHISM.  181 

regard  of  his  express  command  to  partake  of  the  Com- 
munion of  his  body  and  blood,  is  inconsistent  with  a 
true  and  sincere  profession  of  his  religion.  It  is  an 
apparent  contempt  of,  and  a  publick  indignity  to  our 
blessed  Lord;  and  must  be  highly  criminal,  since  all 
Christians  must  allow  it  to  be  necessary  to  obey  the 
Laws  or  Commands  of  Christ,  His  ordinances  are 
the  ordinances  of  God  himself;  and  whoever  would 
partake  of  the  benefits  of  his  mediation  and  interces- 
sion, must  obey  them.  He  commanded  his  disciples 
to  "  go  and  baptize  all  nations  in  the  name  of  the  Fa- 
ther j  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost. "^ 
Wheresoever,  therefore,  the  Gospel,  or  the  glad  ti- 
dings of  Christ's  Redemption,  is  preached,  all  are 
bound  to  be  baptized.  He  hath  declared,  that  "  he 
who  believeth  and  is  baptized,  shall  be  saved."! 
And  that,  "  except  a  man  be  born  of  Water  and  of  the 
Spirit,  he  cannot  enter  into  the  Kingdom  of  God.  "J 
He  has  also  expressly  commanded  us  to  cele- 
brate the  blessed  Sacrament  of  his  body  and  blood; 
«'  in  remembrance  of  him.'^\  and  thereby  ^^  to  show 
forth  his  death  till  he  come,"||  a  second  time  to 
Judgment,  to  reward  or  punish  every  man  according  to 

*  Matt,  xxvii.  10.  f  Mark  xvi.  16.         |  John  iii.  5. 

§Luke  xxii.  19.  ||  1  Cor.  xi.  26. 


182  LECTURES  ON^ 

the  deeds  done,  and  the  duties  performed  or  neglect- 
ed, while  in  this  present  world.  Nothing  then  can 
be  more  plain,  than  that  it  is  very  necessary  for  all  men 
to  be  baptized  once^  and  to  receive  the  Sacrament  of 
the  Lord's  Supper  often^  in  order  to  be  entitled  to 
that  Heavenly  Kingdom  which  he  hath  purchased  for 
us  the  possibility  of  obtaining;  and  that  they  who 
wilfully  neglect  or  refuse  either,  and  die  impenitent- 
ly  in  that  neglect  or  refusal,  will  very  justly  be  dis- 
owned and  rejected  by  him,  as  persons  "  whom  he 
knows  not;"  as  persons  who  though  they  may  have 
called  him  "  Lord!  Lord!"  yet  have  obstinately  re- 
fused to  do  the  things  which  he  has  said,  and  there- 
fore, as  "  workers  of  iniquity."*  ''  He  M^ho  know- 
eth  his  Lord's  will,"  saith  he,  '*  and  doeth  it  not,  shall 
be  beaten  with  many  stripes;"!  or,  in  other  words, 
shall  be  most  severely  punished. 

Such  is  the  necessity  of  the  holy  Sacraments  to 
Salvation,  being  the  appointed  means  or  channels  of 
Divine  Grace  to  our  hearts;  and  in  order  to  explain 
more  clearly  what  is  meant  by  a  Sacrament^  we  must 
proceed  to  the  next  answer,  wherein  it  is  defined  in 
the  following  words: 

*  Luke  xiii.  25.-27.         t  Luke.  12.  47 


THE  CATECHISM.  183 

"  A  Sacrament  is  an  outward  and  visible  sign  of 
an  inward  and  spiritual  grace  given  unto  us,  ordained 
by  Christ  himself,  as  a  means  whereby  we  receive  the 
same,  and  a  pledge  to  assure  us  thereof."  So  that, 
besides  the  appointment  of  Christ  (which  is  necessa- 
ry to  make  a  Christian  Sacrament)  it  must  consist 
first  of  an  outward  and  visible  sign,  and,  secondly  of 
G7i  inward  and  spiritual  grace;  and  it  must  have  been 
ordained  by  Christ  both  as  a  means  whereby  we  re- 
ceive this  grace,  and  as  a  pledge  to  assure  us  of  the 
communication  of  it. 

The  word  Sacrament  is  derived  from  a  custom  of 
the  Romans,  who,  when  they  enlisted  soldiers  for  their 
armies,  administered  an  oath  of  fidelity,  which  they 
called  Sacramentum,  an  oath  or  sacrament;  whence 
the  ancient  Fathers  of  the  Church  have  applied  the 
term  to  Baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper,  because  those 
Ceremonies  signify,  among  Christians,  an  acknow- 
ledgment of  the  authority  of,  an  assurance  or  oath 
of  fidelity  and  obedience  to,  the  great  Captain  of  our 
Salvation,  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ.  And, 
as  all  religions  have  some  rite,  by  which  the  indivi- 
dual acknowledges  himself  an  adherent  to  that  par- 
ticulai-mode  of  faith,  and  is  publickly  admitted  to  the 
fellowship  and  privileges  of  that  paiticuiai'  commu- 
nity, ho  Baptism  is  a  rite,  or  ceremony,  instituted  by 


184  LECTURES  ON 

our  blessed  Lord,  as  a  publick  mode  of  initiation 
into  the  Christian  Church — the  water  used  upon  that 
occasion,  being  a  symbol  of  the  regenerating  and 
cleansing  influence  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  upon  the  hearts 
of  all  faithful  and  penitent  Christians.  Not  that  any  im- 
mediate and  miraculous  spiritual  change  is  eifected 
by  the  pouring  of  water  upon  the  persons  baptized, 
but  that  they  are  thereby,  after  a  voluntary  profes- 
sion of  their  faith,  admitted  to  be  partakers  of  the 
New  Covenant:  entered  into  the  family  or  Church  of 
Christ,  and  invested  with  all  the  privileges  of  that 
household:  they  become  members  of  Christ,  by 
being  grafted  into  that  body  of  which  he  is  the  head; 
children  of  God  by  adoption  in  his  Son,  heirs  of 
everlasting  life,  by  the  same  title,  and  thus  put  into  a 
state  and  capacity  of  enjoying  all  the  blessings  of  the 
Gospel,  if  they  do  not  neglect  the  conditions  which 
that  Covenant  requires  upon  their  part. 

In  every  Sacrament  there  are  two  parts;  "  the 
outward  visible  sign,  and  the  inward  spiritual  grace;" 
Thus  in  Baptism^  the  outward  and  visible  sign  is, 
that  of  being  washed  or  sprinkled  with  pure  water; 
as  the  cleansing  of  our  bodies  by  washing  them  with 
pure  water,  is  a  very  proper  representation,  or  sign 
of  the  cleansing  of  our  souls  from  the  pollution  of  sin. 
And  by  being  baj)tized  in  the  name  of  the  ever  bles- 


THE  CATECHISM.  185 

sed  Trinity,  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost, 
we  thereby  acknowledge  and  adore  the  Father,  the 
Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost;  as  the  one  God  of  the  Chris- 
tians— "  The  God  who  is  over  all,  blessed  for  ever- 
more."* 

"  The  inward  and  spiritual  grace  signified  by  this 
outward  washing,"  says  the  Catechism,  "  is  a  death 
unto  Sin;  and  a  new  birth  unto  Righteousness:  for, 
being  by  nature  born  in  sin  and  the  children  of  wrath 
we  are  hereby  made  the  children  of  grace."  That 
is — as  water  cleanseth  the  body,  so  doth  regeneration, 
or  the  new  birth  unto  righteousness,  so  wash  or  cleanse 
our  souls  from  sin  (by  the  death  and  sacrifice  of  the 
Son  of  God,  which  alone  can  take  away  sin)  that  we 
are  like  newborn  persons  in  his  sight.  Hence  it  is 
very  plain,  that  the  end  proposed  by  this  Sacrament 
of  Baptism,  was  the  forgiveness,  or  the  washing  away 
of  the  sins  of  the  person  baptized;  and  that,  as  this  Sa- 
crament was  ordained  by  Christ,  as  a  means  to  attain 
this  end,  so  the  institution  itself  was  a  pledge  to  man- 
kind to  assure  them  of  their  attaining  it.  Of  the  Per- 
sons baptized  is  required,  *'  repentance,  whereby 
they  forsake  sin,  and  faith,  whereby  they  steadfastly 
believe  the  promises  of  God,  made  to  them  in  that 

*   Rom.  ix  5. 


186  LECTURES  ON 

Sacrament."     So  that  the  efficacy  and  advantages  of 
that  Sacrament  depend  on  our  coming  to  it  with  the 
qualifications  required;  and  what  these  qualifications 
are  has  been   already  explained  in   the  former  part 
of  this  Catechism.     To  repent,  so   as   to  forsake 
sin,  is,  in  other  words,  "  To  renounce  the  Devil, 
and  all  his  works,  the  pomps  and  vanities  of  this 
wicked  World  and  all  the  sinful  lusts  of  the  Flesh:" 
and  '^  that  faith  whereby  men  steadfastly   believe 
all   the   promises  of  God,  made   to  them   in  that 
Sacrament,"  comprehends  under  it  all  the  articles  of 
the  Christian  Faith,  as  contained   in  the   Apostles' 
Creed,  which  I  have  already  explained.     And  here  it 
may   be  proper  for  me   to  state   to  you  the  precise 
meaning  of  two  words  which  when  used  in  connec- 
tion with  water  baptism  are  sometimes  erroneously 
considered  as  synonymous;  but  between  which  our 
church  inculcates  a  very  marked  and  important  dis- 
tinction. I  mean  Regeneration,  and  Renovation.    She 
considers  every  baptized  person  as  regenerated,  or  by 
that  external  act  taken  out  of  a  state  of  worldly  or  hea- 
then darkness,  and  admitted  into  the  pure  light  of  the 
Gospel,  the  covenanted  means  of  salvation.     In  the 
former  state  we  arc  denominated  children  of  wrath,"  in 
the  latter  *^  children  of  grace."  We  are  thus  by  the  ini- 
tiatory rite  of  baptism  "called  to  a  state  of  Salvation." 
^^^e  enter  into  the  new,  the  Gospel  Covenant,  in  which 


THE  CATEClIlSiM.  187 

we  on  our  part,  in  order  to  obtain  the  promised  bles- 
sings, engage  to  j^rform  certain  stipulated  conditions. 
This  is  what  we  mean  by  being,  through  this  exter- 
nal rite  "  regenerated,  and  made  God's  children  by- 
adoption  and  grace"  the  term  regeneration  being  al- 
ways connected  in  scripture  with  water  baptism. 
Baptism  is  a  sign  of  the  covenant  between  God  and 
us,  as  Circumcision  was  of  his  Covenant  with  the 
Jews. 

"  They   who  are  regularly  baptized,"  says  a 
learned  and  pious  Prelate  of  our  Church,*  ''  are  in- 
corporated into  the   visible  Church  of  Christ,   and 
thereby  on  certain  conditions,  entitled  to  the  pardon 
of  their  sins,  and  received  into  the  number  of  the 
Children  of  God  through  Jesus  Christ:  and  as  they 
are  dedicated  to  the  Holy  Ghost,  as  well  as  to  the  Fa- 
ther and  the  Son,  so  they  have  a  right  to  expect  and 
depend  upon  his  gracious  influences,  so  long  as  they 
do  not  wilfully  violate  their  baptismal  covenant.  They 
are  thus  horn  again^  or  regenerated  into  a  new  state, 
entered  upon  new  relations,  obliged  to  live  new  lives. 
They  are  admitted  into  that  body   of  which  Jesus 
Christ  is  the  head,  and  in  which  the  Holy  Spirit 
dwelleth,  in  order  to  quicken  and  sanctify,  to  direct 
and  influence  all  its  members,  who  do  not  refuse  nor 

*  Bishop  Bradford. 


i<J8  Lfc:CTUKKSUxN 

resist  his   gracious   influences.     This   is  baptismal 
Regeneration." 

Renovation  is  that  great  spiritual  change  by 
which  we  are  said  "  to  die  unto  sin,  and  to  rise  again 
unto  righteousness,"  as  the  proper  effect  of  that  obedi- 
ence which  should  flow  from  our  regeneration  by  bap- 
tism. Hence  St.  Paul  speaks  of  the  washing  of  r^- 
generation^  or  baptism,  and  "  the  rene^ving  of  the 
Holy  Ghost. ^^  Our  blessed  Saviour  told  Nicodemus, 
that  it  was  necessary  to  be  born  again  not  only  "  of 
water,"  but  "  of  the  Spirit,"  in  order  to  enter  into  the 
kingdom  of  God.*" 

"  The  renewed  mind"  says  Bishop  Bradford,  "  dis- 
.  erns  more  clearly  the  excellency  of  piety  and  virtue^ 
and  the  odiousness  of  wickedness  and  vice;  and  the 
great  difference  there  is  between  those  happy  creatures 
who  have  constantly  adhered  to  the  former,  and  those 
miserable  beings  who  have  degenerated  into  the  lat- 
ter. It  perceives  the  excellency  of  all  the  Christian 
precepts,  how  agreeable  they  are  to  reason,  and  how 
much  they  tend  to  the  perfection  and  happiness  of  our 
nature."  And  again,  "  This  change  of  heart  is  the 
same  which  St.  Paul  means  in  his  epistle  to  the  Ro- 
mans by  '  minding  the  things  of  the  spirit;'  by  being 
'  spiritually  minded,'  by  being '  in  the  spirit;  and  ha- 

*  John  iii  5. 


rm:  CATECIIIS-M.  189 

ving  the  spirit  of  God  dwelling  in  them'*  and  again, 
by  'being  transformed  in  the  renewing  of  their  minds'f 
this  change  is  what  in  his  epistle  to  the  Ephesians, 
St.  Paul  expresses  by  '  being  renew^ed  in  the  spirit  of 
their  mind,  and  putting  on  the  new  man,  which  after 
God  is  created  in  righteousness  and  true  holiness. 'J 
And  in  his  epistle  to  the  Colossians  by  '  putting  on 
the  new  man  which  is  renewed  in  knowledge  after 
the  image  of  him  who  created  him.'^  But  under 
these  circumstances  of  voluntary  contract,  of  Repen- 
tance and  Faith,  it  is  naturally  asked,  ''  why  then  are 
infants  baptized,  when,  by  reason  of  their  tender,"  or 
early  "  age,  they  cannot  perform,"  or  even  understand 
"  them;"  that  is  they  can  neither  comprehend  nor 
make  the  professions,  nor  perform  the  conditions  of 
the  Covenant?  "  Because,"  says  our  Church  "  their 
sureties,  or  sponsors  promise  them  both  (that  is  Faith 
and  repentance)  for  them;"  thus  presenting  them  to 
Christ,  and  investing  them  with  the  privileges  of  the 
Gospel  Covenant,  by  engaging  to  instruct  them  in  the 
principles  of  Christ's  Holy  Religion,  and  to  bring 
them  up  in  the  fear  of  God,  and  to  obey  his  Command^ 
ments.  "  Suffer,"  said  our  divine  Saviour,  <*  the  lit- 
tle children  to  come  unto  me,  and  forbid  them  not, 

*  Rom.  viii.  5.  6.  9.      .  t  Rom.  xii.  2. 

I  Ephav23.  24.  §CoI.iu.  10. 


190  LECTURES  ON 

for  of  such  is  the  Kingdom  of  God;  and  he  took  them 
up  in  his  arms,  put  his  hands  upon  them,  and  blessed 
them:"*  therefore  the  promises  thus  made  in  their 
behalf,  in   a  state   of  infancy,  they  themselves  are 
bound  to  perform,  when  they  arrive  at  years  of  dis- 
cretion.   Hence  the  propriety  of  the  Rite  of  Confir- 
mation, or  the  laying  on  of  the  hands  upon  those  who 
are  baptized,  and  arrived  at  that  age,  when  they  may 
thus  publickly  exonorate  their  sponsors,  arid  "  with 
their   own  mouth   and  consent,    openly  before   the 
Church,  ratify  and  confirm  the  same,  acknowledging 
themselves  disposed  to  believe  and  to  do  all  those 
things  which  their  sponsors  then  undertook  forthem/'f 
And  these  previous  ordinances  of  Baptism  and  Con- 
firmation, are  justly  considered  by  our  Church  as 
necessarily  preparatory  to  that  highest  and  most  so- 
lemn act  of  Devotion — the  Celebration  of  the  Holy 
Communion:  for,  as  the  bodilv  life  of  a  child  would 
perish  without  constant  and   increased  supplies  of 
food,  so  does  the  spiritual  life,  first  quickened  by 
Baptism,  and  afterwards  strengthened  by  Confirma- 
tion,  require  for  its  preservation,  increase,  and  estab- 
lishment, the  spiritual  and  invigorating  sustenance,  de- 
rived from  a  frequent  and  devout  partaking  of  the 

*  Maik.  X.  14.  16. 


THE  CATECHlSiM.  191 

Lord's  Supper;  the  peculiar  nature  of  which  Sacra- 
ment I  will  explain  in  my  next  Lecture.  And,  that 
the  order  of  the  Catechism  may  not  be  interrupted,  I 
shall  in  the  subsequent  Lecture  more  particularly  ex- 
plain and  recommend  the  sacred  Rite  of  Confirmation; 
and  shall  conclude  my  present  address  with  a  short 
petition  to  the  throne  of  Grace,  that  the  Sacrament  I 
have  been  recommending,  may  be  attended  with  its 
proper  efficacy. 

Let  us  pray. 

Almighty  and  everlasting  God!  Heavenly  Father! 
we  give  thee  humble  thanks,  for  that  thou  hast  vouchsa- 
fed to  call  us  to  the  knowledge  of  thy  Grace,  and  faith 
in  thee:  Increase  this  knowledge,  and  confirm  this 
faith  in  us  evermore.  Give  thy  Holy  Spirit  to  those  per» 
sons  who  are  baptized  into  the  Religion  of  thy  blessed 
Son,  they  that  may  be  born  again,  and  be  made  heirs 
of  everlasting  salvation  through  the  same  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  who  liveth  and  reigneth  with  thee  and 
the  Holy  Spirit,  now,  and  forever.         Amen, 


LECTURE  XIII. 


ON  THE    SACRAMENT  OF   THE  lORD^S  SUPPEK. 

Th  e  First  of  the  two  Sacraments  which  Christ 
hath  enjoined  on  all  who  receive  his  Holy  Religion, 
viz»  Baptism^  I  explained  and  recommended  in  my 
last  Lecture. 

I  now  proceed,  in  order,  to  consider  the  nature 
and  importance  of  the  second  Sacrament,  or  instituted 
means  of  grace,  viz.  that  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  or  Ho- 
ly Communion. 

This  Sacrament  is  so  called,  because  it  was  ap- 
pointed by  our  blessed  Lord  at  the  time  of  the  Pas- 
chal Supper,  a  religious  Festival  among  the  Jews;  the 
last  Slipper  which  he  partook  of  with  his  disciples,  be- 
ing just  before  his  arrest  and  crucifixion:  and  our 
Church,  in  her  catechism,  teaches  us  what  was  the 
end  and  design  of  this  Institution  of  our  Lord;  what 
the  parts  and  benefits  of  this  Sacrament;  and  what 
qualifications  are  required  of  those  who  would  reap 
these  benefits  by  duly  partaking  of  it. 


THECATECniHM.  193 

The  first  question  and  answer  show  us  the  end 
and  design  for  which  this  Sacrament  of  the  Lord's 
Supper  was  ordained;  namely,  "  For  the  continual 
remembrance  of  the  sacrifice  of  the  death  of  Christ, 
and  of  the  benefits  which  w^e  receive  thereby."  That 
our  blessed  Lord  oftered  up  himself  upon  the  Cross 
for  the  sins  of  men,  has  been  already  sufficiently 
shown  in  speaking  on  the  second  article  of  the  Creed; 
and  we  are  here  taught  that  the  end  of  our  Lord  in 
ordaining  this  Sacrament,  was,  that  we  should  duly 
and  constantly^  remember  his  death  and  sacrifice,  and 
those  benefits  which  are  derived  therefrom  by  his  true 
disciples,  to  the  end  of  the  world.  "  Do  this  in  re- 
membrance of  me,"*  were  the  express  words  of 
Christ  himself;  and  St.  Paul  explains  this  precept  by 
saying  "  For  as  often  as  ye  eat  of  this  bread,  and 
drink  of  this  cup,  ye  do  show  forth  the  Lord's  death 
till  become."! 

After  informing  us  of  the  nature  and  design  of 
this  Institution,  the  Catechism  proceeds  next  to  ex- 
plain ih^ parts  of  it,  which,  like  those  of  the  Sacra- 
ment of  Baptism,  are  two — an  outward  and  visible 
sign,  and  an  inward  and  spiritual  grace.  The  outward 
part,  or  sign,  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  we  are  informed 

*  Luke  xxu.  10.  t  1  Cor.  xi.  26. 


HH  LECTURES  ON 

in  the  answer  to  the  next  question,   is  "  Bread  and 
wine,  which  the  Lord  hath  commanded  to  be  receiv- 
ed."    The  other  part  of  this  Sacrament,  viz,  the   in- 
U'fir/'of  part,  or  thing  signified,  is,  according  to  the  words 
of  the  next  answer,  **  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ, 
which  are  spiritually  taken  and  received  by  the  faith- 
ful in  the  Lord's  Supper;"  that  is.  the  devout  and 
faithful  communicant  does,  by  receiving  the  outward 
elements  of  bread  and  wine,  as  really  and  truly  par- 
take of  the  benefits  which  were  purchased  for  him 
by  the  sacrifice   of  the  body  and  blood  of   Christ, 
which  are  the  things  signified  by  those  elements,  as  if 
he  actually  eat  the  flesh  of  Christ's  natural  body,  and 
drank  his  blood.     That  is,  he  reaps  the  great  spiritual 
benefits  of  Christ's  death  and  sufferings,  he  is  united 
to  him  by  faith,  and  he  dwells  in  us,  and  is  united  to 
us  by  the  Graces  of  his  Holy  Spirit,  the  soul  being 
as    truly   refreshed,    strengthened,  and    comforted 
thereby,  as  the  body  is,  by  eating  bread,  and  drinking 
wine;  and  as,  without  its  proper  nourishment,  the  bo- 
dy  would  decay,  and  die,  so,  without  *the   Christian 
(iraces,  the  soul  must  languish  and  decline.  But  these 
benefits  are  vouchsafed  only  to  the  worthy  receiver; 
and  what  is  necessary  in  order  to  our  being  such,   is 
shown  in  the  ansv/er  to  the  last  question,  concerning 
V.  hat  is  required  of  those  who  Avould  come  as  tnev 


THE  CAT.ECHISM.  195 

ought,  to  the  Lord's  Supper,  viz.  *^  To  examhie 
themselves,  whether  they  repent  them  truly  of  their 
former  sins,  steadfastly  purposing  to  lead  a  new  life; 
to  have  a  lively  faith  in  God's  mercy  through  Christ; 
with  a  thankful  remembrance  of  his  death;  and  to  be 
in  charity  with  all  men."  Examination  is  required, 
that  men  may  be  acquainted  with  the  true  state  and 
condition  of  their  own  souls;  may  not  presumptuous- 
ly approach  the  Lord's  Table  without  a  due  sense  of 
their  offences  against  him,  but  may  come  with  humili- 
ty, resignation,  and  peace.  This  examination  consists 
in  general,  in  comparing  our  lives  with  the  rule  of 
God's  Coimnandments^  and  considering  wherein  we 
have  transgressed  them,  together  with  a  sincere  re- 
pentance for  such  transgressions. 

Repentance  of  our  sins  towards  God,  consists  in 
an  hearty  concern  and  sorrow  for  them,  an  humble 
confession  of  them,  and  the  most  steady  resolutions 
and  endeavours  for  the  future  to  avoid  them.  And 
with  regard  to  our  offences  against  one  another,  it 
consists  in  the  saiyie  sorrow^  and  resolutions  of  amend- 
ment, and  in  making  restitution,  as  far  as  we  are  able 
for  the  injuries  we  have  done,  in  proof  of  the  sinceri- 
ty of  those  resolutions. 

Faith,  Or,  as  it  is  here  expressed,  a  *^  lively 
faith  in  G.Qd's  mercies,  through  Christ,"  consists  in 


\9(y  LECTUKES  OS 

being  firmly  and  sincerely  persuaded  of  the  certain 
performance  of  God's  merciful  promises  to  mankind, 
in  and  through  our  great  Redeemer;  in  a  full  convic- 
tion and  confidence  that  he  died  for  the  sins  of  all  men; 
and  that  ^.vhoever  repents  and  forsakes  his  sins,  as  the 
Gospel  requires,  will  infallibly  receive  a  pardon  for 
them. — And,  therefore,  to  this  faith  is  added, 

"  A  thankful  remembrance  of  Christ's  death,"| 
because  it  is  impossible  firmly  to  believe  in  that  mer- 
cy, whhout  being  thankful  for  that  atonement  by 
which  it  was  procured.  It  is  impossible  for  a  sincere 
believer  to  consider  the  wonders  of  our  redemption, 
without  adoring  the' goodness  of  our  God  and  Saviour, 
and  without  crying  out,  with  the  ecstasy  of  St.  Paul, 
"  O  the  depth  of  the  Riches  both  of  the  Wisdom  and 
Knowledge  of  God!  How  unsearchable  are  his  judg- 
ments; and  his  ways  past  finding  out!"* 

The  present  general  neglect  of  this  sacred  ordi- 
nance is,  indeed,  a  source  of  very  sincere  regret  and 
lamentation  to  every  devout  Christian. 

That  a  command  so  positively  delivered,  under 
such  high  authority,  and  such  impressive  circumstan- 
ces of  time  and  place, 'so  easy  in  performance,  and  so 
divinely  efficacious  in  its  operation,  should  not  be  ea- 
gerly complied  with"by  all  who  profess  and  call  them- 

^  Rom.  xi.  53. 


THE   CATECHISM.  197 

selves  Christians,  is  a  defection  from  the  letter,  as 
well  as  the  spirit  of  Christianity,  truly  astonishing, 
and  justly  and  grievously  to  be  deplored.  The  ex- 
cuses generally  offered  for  this  criminal  disregard  of 
so  unquestionable,  so  important  a  duty,  are  as  frivo- 
lous, as  they  are  impious;  and  are  frequently  founded 
upon  a  misconception  of  its  nature.  Yet  such  is  the 
fascinating  power  of  habit,  and  such  the  persuasive 
influence  of  bad^xample,  that  the  celebration  of  this 
holy  ordinance  is  altogether  disregarded  by  a  very 
great  majority  of  the  members  of  our  Church:  so  that 
this  blessed  Sacrament,  this  heavenly  Feast,  this  di- 
vinely instituted  means  of  Grace,  instead  of  being  de- 
voutly received  as  in  the  early  ages  of  the  Church,  by 
eroery  member  of  the  Congregation,  at  every  celebra- 
tion of  religious  worship,  is  now  received  but  by  a 
very  few^  though  publickly  administered  only  once  a 
month,  and  on  the  annual  occurrence  of  the  establish- 
ed Festivals.  To  such  faithful  disciples,  however, 
of  our  Divine  Mediator,  as  do  thus  faithfully  receive 
this  inestimable  blessing,  may  justly  be  applied  his 
address  to  the  chosen  few  who  faithfully  attended  him 
when  on  earth:  "  Yt2irnoi^  little  flock,  for  it  is  your 
Father's  good  pleasure  to  give  you  the  Kingdom"* 

*  Luke  xii  32. 


198  LECTURES  ON 

of  Heaven.  To  correct,  therefore,  the  prevalence  of 
this  general,  this  criminal  inattention,  to  prevent  a  fa- 
tal acquiescence  in  so  depraved  a  habit,  so  pernicious 
an  example,  be  it  your  ambition  to  commence  your 
Christian  course  with  zeal  and  fidelity — to  "  glory  in 
the  Cross  of  Christ"^ — to  "  fight  the  good  fight 
of  Faith,  and  to  lay  hold  on  eternal  life"! — ^*  to  let 
your  light  so  shine  before  men  that  they  may  see  your 
good  works,"!  and  be  won  by  your  *'  holy  conversa- 
tion, and  godliness."^  And,  "be  not  indifferent  or 
ashamed  when  it  concerneth  your  soul,||"  remember- 
ing the  solemn  declaration  of  your  Divine  Instructor, 
Jesus  Chi'ist,  who  will  one  day  be  your  Judge;  "  He 
who  is  ashamed  of  me  and  of  my  words,  of  him  shall 
the  Son  of  man  be  ashamed  when  he  shall  come  in 
his  own  glory,  and  in  his  Father's,  and  of  the  holy 
Angels. "•![ 

Ol  let  this  awful  assurance  sink  deep  into  your 
hearts,  and  influence  your  future  conduct;  and,  as 
soon  as  the  discipline  of  our  Church  will  permit,  ap- 
proach his  sacred  Altar!  and  there,  in  humble,  ardent 
adoration,  present  yourselves,  your  souls,  and  bodies, 
to  be  '*  a  living  sacrifice,  holy  and  acceptable  unto 
the  Lord,  which  is  your  reasonable  service;  and  be 

*  Gal.  vi.  U.  tl  Tim.vi.  12.  f  Matt.  5.  16. 

§  2  Pet.  iii.  11.      ||  Ecclesiasticus  iv.  20.     %  Luke  ix.  26, 


THE  CATECHISM.  199 

not  conformed  to  this  world,  but  be  ye  transformed 
by  the  renewal  of  your  minds,  that  ye  may  prove 
what  is  that  good  and  acceptable  and  perfect  will  of 
God."* 

Lastly,  we  are  required  '*  to  be  in  charity  with  all 
men;"  which  is,  to  forgive  all  men  their  offences 
against  us,  as  sincerely  as  we  ourselves  desire  to  be 
forgiven;  to  pray  to  God  to  forgive  them  in  the  same 
manner,  and  to  be  ready  to  do  them  all  offices  of  hu- 
manity, and  charity,  which  are  consistent  with  our 
own  safety,  and  with  our  other  duties  of  life. 

These  are  the  qualifications  necessary  for  the 
worthy  receiving  the  Holy  Sacrament  of  the  Lord's 
Supper;  and  the  want  of  them  is  no  just  excuse  for 
not  coming  to  the  Lord's  Table,  because  they  are 
always  necessary  and  indispensable  parts  of  our  Chris- 
tian duty,  and  the  very  things  we  promised  to  per- 
form in  our  Baptismal  Covenant. 

Thus,  have  I  now  arrived  at  the  end  of  the  Cate- 
chism,  and  endeavoured  in  the  course  of  my  observa- 
tions on  its  several  parts,  to  explain  to  you  those  va- 
various  lessons  of  Christian  Faith  and  duty  which  it 
recommends;  and  **  knowing  these  things,  happy 
will  ye  be  if  ye  do  them."f  We  all  know,  by  Nature, 

*  Rom.  xii.  1—2.  f  John  xiii.  17. 


200  LECTURES  ON 

as  well  as  by  divine  Revelation,  what  manner  of  per- 
sons we  ought  to  be  in  this  world.  Being  rational 
creatures,  we  are  evidently  bound  to  govern  our  pas- 
sions, appetites,  and  whole  behaviour  by  the  rules  of 
reason — being  social  creatures,  we  are  as  evidently 
bound  to  do  whatever  will  make  society  happy — and 
lastly,  being  creatures  capable  of  knowing  our  Crea- 
tor, being  Christia?2s,  possessed  of  the  clearest  revela- 
tion of  God's  will,  it  follows  very  evidently,  that  w^e  are 
not  to  forget  him,  but  to  worship  him  as  the  Almigh- 
ty, Allwise,  and  Bountiful  Maker,  and  Lord  of  the 
Universe,  acknowledge  our  dependence  on  him,  be 
thankful  to  him  for  his  mercies,  and  resign  ourselves 
to  his  disposal. 

Such  conduct  being  unquestionably  your  duty, 
I  most  earnestly  entreat  you,' diligently  to  observe  and 
practise  it — for,  if  seeing  we  see  not,  and  hearing  we 
hear  not,  to  the  only  good  purpose  of  life,  that  of  be- 
coming, in  heart  and  practice,  such  as  we  ought  to  be, 
better,  indeed,  would  it  be  for  us  "  not  to  have 
known  the  way  of  righteousness,  than  after  we  have 
known  it,  to  turn  from,  or  disobey  the  holy  coimnand- 
ment  delivered  to  us."*  For,  "  unto  whomsoever 
much  is  given,  of  him,"  wc  are  expressly  assured, 

*  Pet.  ii.  21. 


TflE  GATEeUISM.  201 

"  much  will  be  required."^  Nay,  even  a  Heathen 
smner  shall  not  escape  entirely  by  his  ignorance:  be- 
cause, "  those  who  have  not  the  Law  given  by  Christ 
have  a  law  written  on  their  hearts,  their  consciences 
accusing,  or  else  excusing  them,"t  according  to  their 
conduct.  Much  less  can  those  Christians  hope  for 
divine  favour  or  mercy,  who  hear  the  word  of  God 
frcqucntly  explained  and  recommended  to  them;  who 
have  it  at  hand,  and  may  read  it  daily ^  and  yet  trans- 
gress it.  '^  Verily,  I  say  unto  you,  it  shall  be  more 
tolerable  for  the  land  of  Sodom  and  Gomon-ah.  in  the 
Day  of  Judgment, "J  than  for  such  persons.  Be  as- 
sured, therefore,  that  the  first,  indispensable  duty  of 
man  is,  to  leani  and  know  the  will  of  his  Divine  Crea- 
tor: the  next,  to  do  it;  and  that  nothing  can  excuse 
you  for  neglecting  either.  Attend,  then,  I  beseech  you, 
to  all  such  means  of  grace  and  instruction,  as  God's 
providence  hatli  given  you;  especially  to  the  public  in- 
structions and  devotions  of  the  Church;  which  be- 
ing expressly  appointed  for  you,  he  will  certainly 
bless  to  you. 

Even  these  very  Lectures,  which  are  given  to 
you  at  the  close  of  every  week,  amoiig  other  things 
which  have  been  sincerely  intended  for  your  spiritual 

*  Luke  xii.  48.  t  Rom.  ii.  15.  \  ISlalt.  x.  15. 


202  LECTURES  ON 

improvement,  and  eternal  benefit,  will  prove,  if  you 
do  not  apply  them  to  that  end,  a  means  of  increasing 
your  future  condemnation.     *'  Take  heed,  therefore 
how  ye  hear,"-^  *<  Consider  your  ways,"!   consider 
the  certainty  of  Death  and  Judgment,  and  be  wise. 
Endeavour  to  improve  your  hearts  and  amend  your 
hves.      Remember  that  merely  hearing  or  reading 
"svhat  is  your  duty  is  nothing:  that  merely  knowing 
the  words  of  your  Catechism  ever  so  well,  and  the 
meaning  of  them,  is  of  no  other  use  than  to  instruct 
you  in  the  performance  of  what  it  teaches.     Have  it 
always  in  your  thoughts,  therefore,  that  practice^  uni- 
form practice  of  your  duty  as  Christians  is  the  one 
thing  needful;  for, ''  not  every'one,"  saith  Christ  him- 
self, ^^  who  saith  unto  me  Lord!  Lord!  shall  enter  in- 
to the  Kingdom  of  Heaven,  but  he  who  docth  the 
will  of  my  father  who  is  in  Heaven. ''f 

Finally,  be  very  diligent  in  the  attainment  of 
sound  Learning;  knowing  that  your  advancement  and 
respectability  in  society  will,  in  a  great  measure,  de- 
pend upon  the  imprpvement  of  your  present  time  and 
understanding,  and  that  your  future  and  eternal  hap- 
piness will  depend  upon  your  knowledge,  experience, 
and  practice  of  true  religion. 

»Luke.  viii.  18.  1  W^'z.  L  J.  iMait.  vil.^l. 


On  this  head,  I  advise  you  diligently  to  learn 
your  respective  Catechisms,  and  remember  particu- 
larly the  information  you  receive  from  them,  concern- 
ing your  duty  towards  God,  and  your  duty  towards 
your  neighbour;  wliich,  if  you  faithfully  perform  them, 
will  enable  you  to  live  in  peace  of  mind  here,  to  die 
in  comfort,  and  to  enter  into  everlasting  bliss  after. the 
short  period  of  your  trial  in  this  world  is  over. 

Think  then,  I  entreat  and  charge  you,  seriously 
and  often,  of  these  things;  for, 

^'  These  are  thoughts  whicJi  make  man,  man; 

"The  wise  illumine,  agg-rcvnclize  the  greitt.** 

Young,  N.  6. 

and,  to  remind  yourselves  of  them  more  effectually, 
frequently  read  '*  the  Holy  Scriptures  which  are  able 
to  make  you  wise  unto  Salvation."*  Be  constant  in 
coming  to  Church  on  the  Sabbath,  remembering  that 
God  hath  expressly  hallowed,  or  set  apart,  that  day,  as 
his  own,  for  the  express  purpose  of  such  religious 
exercises  as  may  tend  to  his  glory  and  i/our  eternal 
salvation.  And  reflect,  O!  daily  reflect,  that  you  are 
rational  beings;  that  you  call  yourselves  Christians; 

^  2  Tim.  iiil5. 


that  life  is  uncertain;  that  though  continued  to  old  age 
it  is  very  short;  that  you  must  die;  that  after  death, 
there  will  be  a  general  Judgment;  that  you  must  stand 
before  the  bar  of  God,  to  be  judged,  according  to 
your  conduct  in  the  present  world,  and  that  your  con- 
dition of  happiness  or  misery  in  a  future  and  eternal 
state  of  existence,  will  entirely  depend  upon  the 
thoughts,  words,  and  actions  of  the  present. 

"  Seek  ye"  therefore,  *'the  Lord  while  he  may 
be  found;  call  ye  upon  him  while  he  is  near."^  Im- 
pirovethe  fleeting  moments  of  your  uncertfiin  life,  while 
Time  is  yours. 


-or,  moments  ye  will  wish, 


When  worlds  want  wealth  to  buy!" 

Young:,  N.  2. 

— -When  the  awful  realities  of  the  eternal  world,  con- 
trasted with  the  fascinating  delusions  of  the  present, 
will  excite  an  irresistible  conviction  of  the  inestimable 
value  of  Time;  and  when  remorse  for  its  absence,  or 
joy  unspeakable,  from  the  consciousness  of  its  proper 
application  to  the  faithful  discharge  of  our  various 
religious  and  social  duties,  will  render  the  summons 

*  Isaiah  Iv.  6. 


THE  CATECmSM.  205 

of  Death  an  anticipated  sentence  of  condemnation,  and 
banishment  to  the  regions  of  misery  and  despair,  or  a 
passport  of  admission  into  the  Paradise  of  God,  where, 
with  the  spirits  of  the  just  made  perfect,  with  Angels 
and  Archangels,  we  shall  enjoy  the  uninterrupted  glo- 
ry and  felicity  of  heaven,  through  the  endless  ages  of 
eternity. 

Now  to  God  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost, 

be  ascribed,  as  most  justly  due,  all  might,  majesty, 
adoration,  and  praise^  henceforth,  and  forever. 


LECTURE  XIV. 


ON   CONFIRMATIOJT. 


My  young   friends, 

I  AM  now  going  to  address  you  upon  a  subject 
of  very  considerable  importance  in  the  formation  of 
your  Christian  character,  viz,  on  the  performance  of 
a  duty  which  our  Church  enjoins  on  all  her  members, 
as  preparatory  to  the  highest  and  most  solemn  act  of 
devotion — the  celebration  of  the  Lord's  Supper.  The 
duty  which  I  allude  to  is,  the  receiving  of  the  Rite  of 
Confirmation,  the  nature  of  which  has  already  been 
sufficiently  explained  to  you,  in  the   Appendix  to  the 
Catechism,  and,  therefore,  need  not  be  explained  to  you 
here.     Its  usefulness  and  propriety  must  appear  un- 
questionable on  the  slightest  examination  anti  reflec- 
tion. 


LECTURE  ON  CONFIRMATION.  207 

That  you  should,  as  soon  as  you  are  capable  of 
understanding  them,  exonerate  your  Sponsors  from 
those  obligations  which  they  entered  into  on  your  be- 
half, when  you  were  incapable  of  comprehending  or 
performing  them,  is  the  dictate  of  common  justice, 
both  towards  those  sponsors  and  to  yourselves. 

The  affectionate  solicitude  which  induced  them  to 
initiate  you  into  the  Christian  Church,  thereby  enti- 
tling you,  from  your  earliest  years,  to  the  privileges 
of  the  Gospel  Covenant;  and  their  care  to  instruct  you 
in  those  principles,  which,  if  acted  upon,  will  promote 
your  highest  happiness  both  in  this  world  and  the 
next,  most  assuredly  merits  your  warmest  gratitude. 
In  the  great  scale  of  creation,  man  is  appointed 
to  occupy  a  very  important  station.  He  is  placed 
but  "  a  little  lower  than  the  angels,"*  and  is  endow- 
ed  with  the  noble  faculties  of  Reason  and  Free-will. 
The  Holy  Scriptures,  and  the  Civil  History  of  man- 
kind afford  incontestible,am.ple,  and  melancholy  proof 
of  the  uniform  abuse  of  those  intellectual  privileges  in 
so  high  a  degree  as  to  forfeit  the  favour  of  God,  and 
our  consequent  capacity  of  admission  into  his  heaven- 
ly kingdom,  after  our  present  short  period  of  exis- 
tence has  expired.     Our  merciful  restoration  to  tliis 

^Ilcb.ii.  7. 


208  LECTURE  ON 

exalted  and  inestimable  benefit,  is  the  foundation 
of  the  Christian  Religion,  which  is  a  system  won- 
derfully accommodated  to  our  infirmities,  our  weak- 
nesses, and  our  wants.  And  in  this  divine  and  be- 
nevolent system,  *'  God  dealeth  with  us"  not  only 
**  as  with  sons"*^  but  as  rational  and  free  agents:  leav- 
ing it  optional  with  us  to  embrace  or  reject  those  infi- 
nite advantages  which  he  has  offered  to  us  through 
the  mediation  of  his  blessed  Son,  and  that  Divine 
Revelation  which  he  has  communicated  to  us,  by  him, 
which  is  called  the  Gospel  Covenant. 

It  is  called  a  Covenant^  because  by  our  volunta- 
rv  performance  of  certain  duties  proposed,  we  become 
entitled  to  the  great  and  glorious  blessings  therein 
stipulated:  viz,  the  salvation  of  our  immortid  souls, 
and  eternal  happiness  in  Heaven. 

The  promises  made  by  your  sponsors  that  you 
should  embrace  and  perform  yoiw  part  of  this  Cove- 
nant, arc  to  be  assumed  by  you  in  this  holy  ordinance 
of  Confirmation,  Avhen  you  anive  at  an  age  capable 
of  understanding  its  nature.  This  period  has,  by  ve- 
ry judicious  Divines  of  our  Church,  been  generally 
considered  to  be  at  the  age  of  14  years,  presuming 
upon  the  previous  instruction  of  your  parents  in  the 

*Heb,  xii. 


CONPIRxMAriDX.  '209 

Catechism,  or  the  elementary  principles  of  our  holy 
religion.  Gladly,  therefore,  embrace  the  opportunity 
not  only  of  taking  upon  yourselves  the  obligations 
they  then  assumed  in  your  behalf,  but  of  thus  pub- 
licly avowing  your  attachment  to  that  glorious  sys- 
tem, and  of  qualifying  yourselves  to  become  parta- 
kers of  that  blessed  ordinance,  which  the  Divine-  Au- 
thor of  our  religion  has  instituted  as  a  channel  of  Di- 
vine Grace  to  our  souls,  *'  to  nourish  us  to  all  good- 
ness," and  to  keep  us  in  the  path  which  leads  to  the 
Paradise  of  God. 

This  holy  rite  of  Confirmation  is  derived  from 
the  practice  of  the  Apostles,  and  its  administration 
properly  descended  (according  to  the  testimony  of 
the  ancient  Fathers  of  the  Church,  who  immediately 
succeeded  the  x\postles)  to  the  Bishops,  or  Gover- 
nors of  the  Church  of  Christ.* 

The  Scriptural  authorities  for  this  rite  are  these: 
We  are  informed  by  St.  Luke,  that  when  the 
converts  to  Christianity  in  Samaria  had  been  baptized, 
the  Apostles  St.  Peter  and  St.  John  were  sent  to  con- 
firm them,  (L  e,)  to  lay  their  hands  upon  them,  that 
they  might  receive  the  Holy  Ghost. 

*  See  Bingham,  Vol.  1.  p.  454, 
2v 


210  LECTURE  ON 

"Now,'' says  the  Evangelist,  **  when  the  apos- 
tles w^ho  were  at  Jerusalem,  heard  that  Samaria  had 
received  the  word  of  God,  they  sent  unto  them  Peter 
and  John:  who  when  they  w^ere  come  down,  prayed 
for  them  that  they  might  receive  the  Holy  Ghost,  for 
as  yet  he  was  fallen  upon  none  of  them;  only  they  were 
baptized  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  Then  they 
laid  their  hands  on  them,  and  they  received  the  Holy 
Ghost."^ 

We  are  also  informed  by  the  Holy  Scriptures, 
that  the  converts  to  Christianity  at  Ephesus,  after 
they  had  been  baptized,  were  confirmed  by  St.  Paul, 
who  observing  the  same  form,  laid  his  hands  upon 
them;  in  consequence  of  which,  they  received  the  Ho- 
ly Ghost."t 

The  ceremony  of  putting  the  hands  upon  the 
head  of  the  person  confirmed,  is  a  compliance  with 
the  ancient  mode  of  blessing  practised  by  the  Jews, 
made  use  of  by  our  Saviour  himself,  and  adopted  by 
the  Apostles,  with  prayer  for  communicating  the  Holy 
Spirit  in  Confirmation,!  which  gave  rise  to  the  pre- 
sent Title  of  the  Office  in  our  Prayer  Books:  viz. 

*  Acts.  viii.  14.  t  Acts.  xix.  6. 

\  See,  among  other  authorities,  Gen.  xlviii.  1 4.  Lev.  viii.  1 4. 
Numb,  xxvii.  23.  Deut.  xxxiv.9.  Mark  x.  16.  Acts  viii.  18. 
Acts  xix,  6.       1  Tim.  \v.  14. 


COMIRAIAIIUN.  211 

<<  The  Order  of  Confirmation  or  laying  on  of 
HANDS  upon  those  that  are  baptized." 

And  this  "  laying  on  of  hands,"  or  Confirmation, 
is  connected  by  the  same  holy  Apostle  with  Bap- 
tism,* as  essential  or  fundamental  rites  of  the  Chris- 
tian Church.     These  authorities  alone  are  sufficient 
to  establish  the  usage  of  the  practice  of  the  laying  on 
of  hands,  after  Baptism,  by  the  Apostles,  which  is 
what  the  Bishops,  their  true  successors  in  the  go- 
vernment of  the  Church,  still  do  in  the  solemn  rite 
of  Confirmation.     It  is  not  indeed  considered  by  our 
Church  as  a  Sacrament,  because  it  was  not  "  ordain- 
ed by  Christ  himself;^'*  and  therefore  professing  Chris-- 
tians,  or  those  who  have  been  baptized,  are  not  pro- 
hibited from  coming  to  the  holy  Communion,  where 
the  administration  of  the  rite  of  Confirmation  by  a 
bishop  cannot  be  obtained.     The  examples  and  in- 
junctions of  the  holy  Apostles,  however,  and  of  the 
primitive  Christians  constitute  a  sufficient  rule  for  our 
observance  of  it. 

Tertullian,  who  lived  about  eighty  years  after 
St.  John,  and  who  is  very  particular  in  stating  the 
practioe  of  the  primitive  Church,  tells  us,  that  "  af- 

*  Heh.  vi.  2. 


-;i2  LEOTO-RE  OX 

ter  baptism,  succeeds  laying  on  of  hands,  and  by 
prayer  calling  for,  and  inviting  the  Holy  Spirit."^ 

^  St.  Cyprian,  who  lived  about  sixty  years  after 
Tertullian,  when  speaking  of  the  Samaritan  converts, 
adds,  **  the  same  thing  is  practised  among  us;  that 
they  who  are  baptized  in  the  Church  are  presented 
to  the  governors  of  it,  the  Bishops,  that  by  their 
prayers,  and  imposition  of  hands  ^  they  may  obtain  the 
Holy  Ghost,  and  be  perfected  with  the  seal  of 
Christ: "t  which  is,  by  Confirmation  to  attain  the 
highest  order  of  Christians. 

St.  Jerome,  speaking  of  Confirmation,  says, 
"  If  you  ask  where  it  is  written,  it  is  written  in  the 
Acts  of  the  Apostles:  but  if  there  were  no  authority  of 
Scripture  for  it,  yet  the  consent  of  all  the  Avorld  in 
this  particular  is  instead  of  a  command.  "J 

The  Jews  had  a  ceremony  similar  to  our  rite  of 
Confirmation;  for  they  brought  their  children  before 
the  congregation  when  they  were  thirteen  years  old; 
at  which  period  they  were  required  to  know  the  gene- 
ral principles  of  the  law  and  to  say  their  daily  prayers; 
upon  which  they  were  presented  by  their  fathers 
before  the  holy  assembly,  and  there  solemnly  took  up- 
on themselves  the  observation  of  the  law,  were  decla- 

*  De  Bap.  C.  8.         f  Ep.  ^o,  %  Dial,  advers,  Liicif. 


COKFIKMATION.  2 13 

red  sons  of  the  precept  y  and  were  thenceforth  to  an- 
swer for  their  own  sins,  for  which  before,  the  fathers, 
and  not  the  children  were  responsible:  and  the 
rite  ended  with  prayers  and  praises.*  And  Josephus 
tells  us,  that  at  that  age,  their  youth  "  could  as  readi- 
ly give  an  account  of  the  laws  and  rules  of  their  reli- 
gion, as  to  answer  to  their  own  names.'*! 

How  grievous  a  reproach  is  this  information  to 
modern  Chi'istians! 

Even  among  Heathen  nations,  the  dictates  of  rea- 
son, or  the  hght  of  nature,  prescribed  a  similar  insti- 
tution. 

Among  the  Persians,  "  the  youth  at  a  certain 
age  v/ere  required  to  take  a  solemn  oath  to  despise  all 
filthy  lucre,  bodily  pleasure,  and  vain  glory;  to  be 
emulous  of  virtue,  and  honour  their  parents;  to  speak 
truth,  do  good,  and  never  wilfully  to  violate  any  of 
these  things."} 

Among  the  Mhenians,  "  when  their  young  men 
were  enrolled,  they  solemnly  swore  to  observe  the  per- 
petual solemnities  and  received  customs  of  their 
country,  and  to  defend  and  reverence  the  religion  in 
which  they  were  born."§ 

*  Buxtorf.  Synag.  Jud.  C.  7.         f  Lib.  2.  conf.  Appion. 
i  Isid.  Pelus.  lib.  4.  §  Jul.  Poll.  Oncrmast. 


Other  authorities  might  be  added,  were  they 
deemed  necessary.  These,  I  trust,  are  sufficient  to 
prove  that  it  has  always  been  a  general  practice  among 
Jews  and  Gentiles,  as  well  as  Christians,  for  the  youth, 
at  some  prescribed  period,  to  assume  and  publicly 
avow  responsibility  with  respect  to  their  future  con- 
duct. 

Among  Christians,  they  who  receive  the  rite  of 
Confirmation  should  previously  consider  its  serious 
and  important  nature. -^That  they  are  about  to  en- 
ter into  a  solemn  engagement  with  Almighty  God,  to 
perform  the  duties  of  the  Christian  Covenant,  in  or- 
der to  obtain  the  blessings  which  it  promises;  which 
are,  to  become  "  members  of  Christ,"^  "  children 
of  God,"t  ^^^  ''  inheritors  of  the  Kingdom  of  Hea- 
ven. "J  Glorious  and  inestimable  privileges  indeed! 
witii  which  nothing  that  the  world  has  to  offer  can  in 
any  degree  be  compared.  For,  "  what  would  it  pro- 
fit a  man  if  he  should  gain  the  whole  world,  and  lose 
his  own  soul?"^  And,  having  heard  the  glad  tidings 
of  the  Gospel,  if  we  refuse  to  comply  with  its  invi- 
tations, such  must  be  the  awful  and  inevitable  con- 
sequence of  our  neglect. 

Eph.  V.  30.     t  Gal.  iii.  26,     i  1  Pet.  i.  3,  4.     §  Mark  viii.  36. 


CONriRMATiON.  215 

Consider  that  you  live  at  a  very  trying  and  dan- 
gerous period  of  time;  when  the  Faith  of  sincere 
Christians  is  frequently  exposed  to  the  severest 
tests — when  all  the  delusions,  the  artifices,  the  so- 
phistry of  Infidelity,  are  set  in  array  against,  and  bid 
bold  defiance  to,  "  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus!"* 

"  Put  on,  therefore,  the  whole  armour  of  God; 
the  breastplate  of  Righteousness,  the  shield  of  Faith, 
the  helmet  of  Salvation,  and  the  sword  of  the  Spirit, 
which  is  the  word  of  God,  praying  always,  w^ith  all 
prayer  and  supplication  in  the  Spirit,  and  watching 
thereunto,  with  all  perseverance,  that  you  may  be 
able  to  stand  against  the  wiles  of  the  Devii."t 

"  The  manners  and  principles  of  the  present 
times,"  says  the  celebrated  Dr.  Knox,  "  are  unpropi- 
tious,  not  only  to  the  due  performance  of  Sacra- 
mental rites,  but  to  all  the  duties  of  Christian  devo- 
tion. 

"  As  to  the  manners  of  the  times,  it  is  certain,  that 
Commerce,  amidst  its  many  advantages,  has  introd[u- 
ced  a  general  spirit  of  selfishness  and  avarice,  so  that 
the  devotional  regard  which,  in  days  of  cotnpara- 
tive  poverty  and  virtuous  simplicity,  Religion  was 
w^ont  to  excite,  is  paid  to   money,  that  idol  of  tlie 

*  Eph.  \y.  2).  +  Eph.  vi.  1 1 — \9. 


216  LECTURK  GN 

heart,  on  whose  altar  Truth,  Virtue,  Freedom  are 
daily  sacrificed,  with  all  the  enthusiasm  of  the  blindest 
bigotry. 

"  Self  aggrandizement,  and  worldly  affluence 
and  honours,  become  the  Chief  Good;  and  those  who 
seek  it  not,  or  relinquish  it  for  "  the  things  which  are 
not  seen,"  are  accounted  in  the  w^orld's  estimate,  fools 
or  insane. 

**  As  to  principle Sy  the  heart  of  man,  be  it  re- 
membered, can  scarce  admit  of  two  sti-ong  attach- 
ments at  the  same  time.  When  the  World  has  sei- 
zed the  affections,  the  unseen  Deity,  and  all  the  duties 
which  result  from  an  acknowledged  relation  to  him, 
Avill  be  viewed  with  indifference  and  more  than  in- 
difference, even  with  disgust,  because  they  will 
often  appear  repugnant  to  the  favourite  pursuit.  In 
this  state  of  the  public  mind,  the  voice  of  Infidelity 
will  be  heard  wdth  eagerness,  while  religious  discour- 
ses and  addresses  will  be  treated  with  neglect,  if  they 
should  escape  scorn.  The  affairs  of  the  world,  the 
great  prizes  which  glitter  in  the  eyes  of  pride,  avarice 
and  selfish  pleasure,  w  ill  alone  be  considered  as  wor- 
thy the  anxious  care,  the  ardent  pursuit  of  a  man  of 
sense."*  '*  The  wisdom,"  however,  "  of  this  world 

*  Knox'H  Conf^idcrations  on  the  Lord's  Supper,"  p.  270-1-271 . 


CONFIRMATION.  217 

is  foolishness  with  God."*  Remember  that  "  'tis 
impossible  to  serve  God  and  Mammon,  "f 

Be  it  your  ambition,  then,  to  be  spiritually  wise; 
to  excel  in  every  Christian  grace  and  duty;  to  be 
conspicuous  for  virtue  and  piety. 

O  be  persuaded  to  "  acquaint  yourselves  with 
God,  and  be  at  peace. "J  Inquire  without  delay, 
with  the  young  man  in  the  Gospel  "  what  shall  I 
do  to  inherit  eternal  life? "^     Search  the  Scriptures:  || 

"  There  Truths  abound,  of  sovereign  aid  to  peace: 
"  Ahl  donot  prize  them  less  because  inspired!" 

NIGHT  8. 

— seriously  consider  the  promises  made  in  your  behalf 
at  Baptism. — Implore  the  blessed  influence  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  the  comforter — support  an  intercourse 
Avith  your  Heavenly  Father  by  frequent  and  fervent 
prayer — and,  "be  not  ashamed  of  the  Gospel  of 
Christ,"  but  '^  knowing  it  to  be  the  power  of  God  un- 
to Salvation,  to  every  one  who  believeth,''T[  gladly  at- 
test your  confidence  in  it,  by  assuming  those  obliga- 
tions, the  performance  of  which  will  constitute  you 

*  1  Cor.  iii.  19.  f  Luke  xvi.  13.  :j:  Job.  xxii.  21. 

§  Matt.  xix.  16.  I)  John  v.  39.  t  Rom.  i.  16. 

2e 


218  LECTURE,  Sec. 

heirs  of  eternal  felicity  and  glory;  and,  having  thus 

voluntarily  entered  into  the  Christian  Covenant,  with 

reverence  and  godly  sincerity,  approach  the  Table  of 

the  Lord,  and  partake  of  that  Heavenly  Feast  which 

it  is  your  duty  to  receive  '^  in  remembrance  of  the 

sacrifice  of  his  death,  as  he  himself  hath  commanded," 

and  which  is  intended  to  be  your  "  spiritual  food  and 

sustenance,  in  that  holy  Sacrament;"^  that  you  may 

thereby  be  ''  strengthened  with  might,  by  his  Spirit, 

in  the  inner  man;  that  Christ  may  dwell  in  your  hearts 

by  faith;  that  ye  being  rooted  and  grounded  in  love, 

may  be  able  to  comprehend  with  all  saints  what  is  the 

length  and  breadth,   and  depth  and  height;  and   to 

know  the  love  of  Christ,  which  passeth  knowledge, 

that  ye  may  be  filled  with  all  the  fullness  of  God. 

"  Now  unto  him  who  is  able  to  do  exceeding 
abundantly  above  all  we  ask  or  think,  according  to 
the  power  which  worketh  in  us;  unto  him  be  glory  in 
the  Church,  throughout  all  ages,  world  without  end."t 

*  See  the  Exhortation  in  the  Communion  Service. 
t  Eph.  iii.  16.— 20. 


LECTURE  XV. 


ON^   THE   LITURGY    OY   THE   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 
My  DEAR  PUPILS, 

Having  offered  to  your  attention  several  Lec- 
tures upon  the  Catechism,  and  one  upon  the  import- 
ant subject  of  Confirmation,  I  shall  now  conclude  the 
course  addressed  particularly  to  the  youths  of  the 
Episcopal  Church,  by  offering  a  few  observations 
upon  our  excellent  Liturgy,  or  Form  of  Public  Wor- 
ship. 

The  use  and  propriety  of  established  forms  of 
public  worship  are  sanctioned  by  high  and  various  au- 
thority. 

By  the  precepts  of  Holy  Writ.  Solomon,  the 
wisest  of  men,  expressly  recommends  precomposed 
prayers.  "  Be  not  rash  with  thy  mouth,"  says  he, 
and  let  not  thine  heart  be  /lastT/  to  utter  afit/  thing  be- 


220  LECTURE  ON 

fore  God,  for  God  is  in  Heaven,  and  thou  upon  Earth; 
therefore,  let  thy  words  be  few.""*  "Before  thou 
prayest,"  says  the  wise  Son  of  Sirach,  **  prepare  thy- 
self, and  be  not  as  one  who  tempteth  the  Lord."f 
We  find  in  the  sixth  chapter  of  the  book  of  Numbers, 
that  God  himself  prescribed  th^  Jbrm  of  blessing  that 
the  priests  should  use.  '*  And  the  Lord  spake  unto 
Moses,  saying,  On  this  wise  shall  ye  bless  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel,  saying  unto  thern^  The  Lord  bless  thee 
and  keep  thee;  the  Lord  make  his  face  to  shine  upon 
thee,  and  be  gracious  unto  thee,  the  Lord  lift  up  his 
countenance  upon  thee,  and  give  thee  peace. "J 

And  this  very  form  of  blessing  is  prescribed  by 
our  Liturgy  in  the  office  for  the  visitation  of  the  sick. 
And  in  the  same  book  is  recorded  the  form  of  bles- 
sing at  the  removal  and  resting  of  the  Ark.  In  the 
21st  of  Deuteronomy  is  the  form  of  expiation  of  mur- 
der; And  in  the  26th  chapter,  the  confession  of  him 
who  offereth  the  basket  of  first  fruits,  and  the  prayer 
of  him  who  giveth  the  third  year's  tithes.  To  these 
and  other  single  instances,  may  be  added  that  rich  va- 
riety of  prayer  and  praise — the  whole  book  of  Psalms, 
which  was  expressly  composed  for  the  service  of  the 
Temple. 

*  Eccles.  V.  2.     t  Ecclesiasticus  xviii.  25.     %  Numb.  vi.  26. 


THE  LITURGY.  221 

If  we  tarn  our  attention  to  the  New  Testament 
we  find,  that  St.  John,  the  precursor  of  our  Saviour, 
taught  his  disciples  a  form  of  prayer,  as  the  Jewish 
Doctors  had  taught  theirs;  upon  which  is  grounded  the 
application  of  Christ's  disciples  to  him,  as  recorded  in 
the  11th  chapter  of  St.  Luke's  Gospel:  ''  Lord  teach 
us  to  pray,"  or  give  us  some  form  for  our  constant  use, 
"  as  John  also  taught  his  disciples."  Accordingly 
Jesus,  thereby  in  the  strongest  manner  possible  at- 
testing his  approbation  of  that  mode,  dictated  to  them 
that  admirably  comprehensive  form  called  the  Lord's 
Prayer,  and  enjoined  their  constant  use  of  it.  "  And 
he  said  unto  them,  when  ye  pray,  say,  Our  Father, 
^c."*  And  this  is  an  exact  repetition  of  the  same 
form  given  upon  a  similar  application  as  recorded  by 
St.  Matthew  in  his  6th  chapter,  "  But  when  ye  pray 
use  not  vain  repetitions,  as  the  Heathen  do,  for  they 
think  they  shall  be  heard  for  their  much  speaking. 
Be  not  ye,  therefore,  like  unto  them;  for  your  Father 
knoweth  what  things  ye  have  need  of  before  ye  ask 
him.  Thus  therefore  pray  ye; — Our  Father,  who  ait 
in  Heaven,  &c." 

This  authority  alone  is  amply  explicit,   conclu- 
sive, and  sufficient  for  us.     It  fully  authenticates  the 

*  Luke  xi.  2. 


^>-^  LECTURE  ON 

propriety  of  an  established  Jorm  of  prayer:  which  is  a 
mode  of  public  worship  universally  adopted  by  the 
Christian  Church  from  the  earliest  ages. 

The  use  of  established  forms  of  worship  is  sanc- 
tioned by  the  opinions  and  practice  of  holy  men  of 
old — of  patriarchs,  of  apostles,  of  the  Divine  Author 
of  our  Holy  Religion,  and  of  the  most  eminent  divines 
and  exemplary  Christians  of  modern  days. 

Several  forms  of  prayer,  for  different  occasions, 
are  prescribed  in  the  law  of  Moses.  David's,  and 
Solomon's  are  recorded.  In  the  Jewish  Synagogue, 
which  our  Saviour  constantly  frequented,  they  used 
an  established  form.  And  that  the  Apostles  and  their 
followers  used  a  form,  is  evident  from  the  4th  chapter 
of  the  Acts;  otherwise  how  could  they  ''  lift  up  their 
voices,  and  say  with  one  accord"  the  admirable  pray- 
er there  specified.  ^ 

Innumerable  are  the  forms  of  precomposed  pray- 
er, adapted  to  all  the  circumstances  and  exigencies 
of  life,  which  great  and  good  men  of  our  own,  as  well 
as  of  former  days,  have  prepared  and  constantly  used. 
— Among  others,  those  of  Dr.  Wilson,  the  good  Bi- 
shop of  Sodor  and  Man,  of  Dr.  Enfield,  and  of  the 
great,  the  learned,  the  pious  Dr.  Samuel  Johnson,  be- 
ing preeminently  excellent. 


THE  LITURGY.  223 

But  the  propriety  of  a  preconceived  form  of  pray- 
er is  also  recommended  by  the  authoritative  dictates  of 
Reason. 

No  truth  can  be  more  evident  tlian  that  we  ought 
to  employ  the  best  exertions  of  our  best  powers  upon 
the  most  important  occasions.     Now  what  can  be 
more  important  than,  or  indeed,  so  important  as,  our 
immediate  intercourse  or  communication  with  our 
Almighty  Creator,  Preserver,  and  constant  Benefac- 
tor? And  when  the  best  expressions  are  employed, 
the  utmost  exertions  of  the  human  understanding 
made,  when  we  address  an  earthly  Monarch,  or  any 
individual  of  superior  station  in  society,  and  that  in 
the  most  careful  and  premeditated  manner;  shall  not 
the  King  of  Kings,  and  Lord  of  Lords,  the  Omnipo- 
tent Ruler  of  the  Universe,  be  entitled  to  our  best  ser- 
vices? Shall  we  dare  to  approach  his  infinite  Majesty 
with  crude  and  imperfect  performances?    Shall  we 
reserve  the  application  of  those  noble  intellectual  fa- 
culties which  he  hath  given  us,  and,  by   which  we 
are  distinguished  above   the  rest  of  created  beings, 
for  ^very  other  subject  and  occasion  but  the  worship 
of  him?    Shall  we  rest  the  efncacy  and  propriety  of 
our  addresses  to  the  Deity,  upon  the  uncertain,  in- 
considerate, and  extemporaneous  effusions  of  an  in- 
dividual, in  preference  to  the  deliberate,  rational,  and 
devout  preparations  of  retirement  and  conteninlationj 


224  LECTUllE  ON 

or  to  the  combined  wisdom  of  those  most  conspicu- 
ous for  knowledge,  judgment,  and  piety?  The  an- 
swer must  be  in  favour  of  the  latter.  And  the  proprie- 
ty of  that  decision  cannot  be  more  clearly  evinced, 
than  by  the  sublime,  appropriate,  and  energetic  ad- 
dresses in  our  Liturgy. 

Human  Reason,  frequently  stiled  "  the  Candle 
of  the  Lord  in  man,"  was  given  to  us  to  regulate  and 
restrain  the  operations  of  passion,  and  to  direct  and 
control  the  fervours  of  imagination.  It  has,  therefore, 
justly  been  thought  expedient  by  some  of  the  wisest 
and  most  pious  of  our  venerable  ancestors,  to  digest, 
after  the  most  mature  deliberation,  learned  investiga- 
tion, and  truly  religious  zeal,  a  form  of  public  worship 
which  should  be  accommodated  to  every  capacity, 
and,  at  the  same  time  fully  expressive  of  all  our  weak- 
nesses and  v/ants;  that  every  member  of  our  Church 
might  be  able  to  unite  in  the  worship  of  Almighty 
God,  in  such  a  manner  as  might  most  eifectually  tend 
to  his  glory,  and  the  edification  and  eternal  interest  of 
the  worshippers.  Hence  originated  that  astonishingly 
comprehensive  and  luminous  composition — The  Lit- 
urgy of  the  Church  of  England;  in  the  formation  and 
improvement  of  which,  the  united  wisdom  and  piety  of 
some  of  the  brightest  and  most  exemplary  characters 
that  ever  adorned  society,  were  engaged. — A  Cran* 


TPIE  LITURGY.  225 

nier,  a  Latimer,  and  a  Ridley;  men  who,  for  extent  of 
learning,  purity  of  intention,  and  ardour  of  zeal,  were 
preeminent  in  their  respective  stations,  and  "  whose 
praise  is  in  all  the  Churches."  This  admirable 
"  form  of  sound  words"  was  first  compiled,  then  re- 
viewed and  approved  of,  by  confessors,  and  martyrs 
for  the  protestant  cause.  It  has  been  deliberated  up- 
on by  Councils,  confirmed  by  Convocations,  and  ap- 
plauded by  the  great  and  good,  through  a  long  suc- 
cession of  years. 

This  Liturgy  (except  where  local  and  political 
circumstances  required  verbal  alterations)  the  Episco- 
pal Church  in  America  has  adopted,  or  rather  conti- 
nued to  use;  it  having  been  our  established  form  of 
worship  before  our  separation  from  that'country.  We 
therefore  wisely  preferred  it  to  any  other,  because  its 
doctrines  and  ritual  '^  are  built  upon  the  foundation 
of  the  x\postles  and  Prophets,  Jesus  Christ  himself  be- 
ing the  chief  corner-stone,  in  whom  the  building  fitly 
framed  together  groweth  unto  an  holy  Temple  in  the 
Lord."^  And  our  constant  appeal  is  "  to  the  law 
and  to  the  testimony,"!  in  support  of  that  form  of 
public  devotion  with  which  it  furnishes  the  household 
of  Faith. 

*  Eph..ii-  20.  t  Isa,  viii.  20. 

2   F 


Itn  LECTURE  ON 

The  striking  and  affecting  views  which  it  exhi- 
bits of  truths  the  most  interesting  to  man,  in  a  style 
of  majestic  sirriplicity,  are  well  calculated  to  kindle 
in  the  breast  a  flame  of  rational  devotion;  and  at  the 
same  time  they  are  conveyed  in  language  at  once  ac- 
commodated to  the  most  refined  taste,  and  critical  ac- 
curacy, and  perfectly  intelligible  to  the  plainest  and 
most  unimproved  understanding:  those  short,  but 
comprehensive  petitions  called  Collects,  breathing 
throughout  the  spirit  of  that  divine  form  which  our 
blessed  Saviour  dictated  to  his  disciples. 

Prayer  (as  defined  in  the  Appendix  to  the  Cate- 
chism)* may  be  said,  according  to  the  various  sub- 
jects expressed,  to  consist  of  Confession,  Petition, 
Supplication,  Thanksgiving,  Praise,  and  Interces- 
sion. 

Of  Confession,  the  first  address  to  God  in  the 
morning  and  evening  service,  is  an  inimitable  exam- 
ple— **  Almighty  and  most  merciful  Father,  we  have 
erred  and  strayed,"  &c.;t  as  are  also  those  solemn  and 
truly  affecting  penitential  forms  which  are  to  be  used, 
the  first  after  the  general  Exhortation,  and  the  second 
immediately  before  the  prayer  of  Consecration,  and 
the  receiving  of  the  elements  in  the  Sacrament  of  the 

*  See  Appendix,  p.  49. 

■*■  Sec  the  Order  tor  morning  iind  evening;  prayer. 


THE  LITURGY.  127 

Lord*s  Supper,  **  Almighty  God,  Father  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,"  &c.  and  "  We  do  not  presume,"  &c.  * 
For  Petition,  Supplication,  and  Intercession,  no  hu- 
man mind  can  conceive,  no  language  express  a  more 
elevated,  rational,  sublime,  and  universal  model  than 
our  Litany, t  which  commences  with  a  devout  address 
to  each  of  the  three  persons  of  the  adorable  Trinity 
as  constituting  the  incomprehensible  Godhead;  viz. 
God  the  Father;  as  King  of  Heaven,  our  Creator: 
God  the  Son;  as  our  Redeemer:  and  God  the  Holy 
Ghost;  as  our  Sanctifier. 

The  "  Te  Deum;'  ''  We  praise  thee,  O  God, 
we  acknowledge  thee  to  be  the  Lord;  "  to  be  used 
immediately  after  the  first  lesson  in  the  morning 
service,  is  a  most  rapturous  effusion  of  adoration  and 
praise:  and  the  general  Thanksgiving,  at  the  conclusion 
of  both  the  Services,  a  most  inimitably  energetic  ac 
knowledgment  and  enumeration  of  the  various  bles- 
sings of  Providence,  both  temporal  and  Spiritual: 
*' Almighty  God,  Father  of  all  mercies,"  &c. 

Our  Church,  in  imitation  of  the  Jewish  ritual, 
and  in  conformity  to  the  practice  of  the  primitive 
Church,  directs  the  constant  reading  of  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures, in  the  celebration  of  Divine  Service,  both  in  the 
morning  and  the  afternoon.     By  which,  the  ignorant 

*  See  the  Communion  Service. 

t  See  the  Liturgy  or  general  supplication,  after  the  ordet 
for  evening  service. 


228  LECTURE  ON 

who  eannot  read  the  Bible,  the  **  wise  in  their  own  con- 
ceits," who  think  it  unnecessary,  and  will  not  read  it, 
and  the  industrious  poor,  who,  if  they  are  capable  of 
reading  it  have  not  leisure  during  the  week,  may  have 
the  word  of  God,  the  Holy  Scriptures  both  of  the 
Old  and  New  Testament,  read  and  explained  to  them 
in  the  Sanctuary  every  Sabbath-day.  The  Fasts  and 
Festivals  of  our  Church,  annually  commemorating 
the  leading  events  and  principles  of  our  Holy  Reli- 
gion— such  as  the  Nativity  of  Christ;  his  Crucifixion, 
Resurrection,  and  Ascension,  with  the  descent  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  frequently  call  our  attention  to  impor- 
tant and  essential  articles  of  our  Faith. 

Thus  the  pleasing  variety  and  judicious  intermix- 
ture of  prayer  and  praise,  of  supplication  and  thanks- 
giving, of  confession  and  absolution,  of  hymns  and 
creeds,  of  psalms  and  lessons,  is  admirably  calculated 
to  prevent  the  fatigue,  both  of  mind  and  body,  which 
must  arise  from  along  continued  attention  to  any  one 
subject,  and  in  the  same  posture  of  the  body.     "The 
frame  of  our  Liturgy,"  says  a  pious  and  learned  pre- 
late of  our  Church,  "  is  like  the  frame  of  the  world;  it 
is  order  in  variety;   and  though  all  the   parts  are  dif- 
ferent, yet  the  whole  is  consistent  and  regular." 

The  form  of  our  public  worship  derives  peculiar 
dignity  and  excellence  from  its  being  a  mutual  ser- 


THE  LITURGY.  229 

vice  between  the  priest  and  the  people,  in  which  every 
individual  has  his  particular  part  to  perform.  When 
this  is  properly  done — when  the  people  with  an  audi- 
ble voice  make  the  responses  appointed  by  the  Ru- 
bric, then  may  a  congregation  be  justly  said  "to 
worshijp  the  Lord  in  the  beauty  of  holiness;"*  and 
how  wonderful,  how  animating  would  be  the  effect, 
how  would  the  sacred  fervour  of  religious  zeal  ex- 
pand their  hearts,  and  rise  as  incense  towards  Heaven, 
if  the  mingled  harmony  of  prayer  and  praise  resound- 
ed from  the  tongues  of  a  whole  assembled  congrega- 
tion of  Christians!  How  would  the  most  torpid  soul 
be  thereby  elevated  to  the  highest  raptures  of  true  de- 
votion! 

We  are  told  by  St.  Chrysostom,  who  was  bishop 
of  Antioch  in  the  fourth  century,  that  when  the  con- 
gregation of  the  church  in  which  he  officiated  made 
the  responses,  and  pronounced  Amen,  it  was  like  a  clap 
of  thunder. 

I  therefore  earnestly  recommend  it  to  you  to 
promote  the  proper  performance  of  our  public  wor- 
ship, by  always  making  the  responses  in  an  audible 
voice:  and  be  not  deterred  from  the  execution  of  this 
duty  by  observing  that  your  superiors  and  elders  do 
not  conform  to  it;  but  be  rather  ambitious  of  setting 
them  a  good  example,  that  they  may  be  ashamed  of 

*   Ps.  xcyi.  9. 


23^  LECTURE  ON 

their  supineness,  and  be  led  thereby  to  exchange 
their  apparent  coldness  and  indifference  for  attention 
and  devotion,  and  thus  to  reform  the  errors  of  their 
deportment  in  the  house  of  God. 

Such  is  the  admirable  construction  of  our  service, 
that  when  properly  performed  by  the  alternate  praises 
and  supplications  of  the  priest  and  people,  it  cannot 
fail  to  excite  that  sympathetic  and  fervent  glow  of  de- 
votional ardour  which  must  render  it  an  acceptable 
service  to  that  great  Being  to  whom  it  is  addressed; 
whereas,  if  the  congregation  remain  silent  when  the 
responses  should  be  repeated,  the  sublimity  and  beau- 
ty of  it  are  not  only  obscured,  but  instead  of  being  a 
reasonable  it  is  thus  rendered  an  insipid,  nay,  an  ab- 
surd service.  Did  the  individuals  of  the  congrega- 
tion always  consider  that  it  is  a  public  and  not  a  pri- 
vate act  of  devotion  which  they  are  assembled  to  per- 
form, they  would  always  unite  their  hearts  and  voices 
in  the  public  worship  of  God. 

Another  necessary  requisite  in  the  due  celebra- 
tion  of  our  service  is,  the  act  of  kneeling  during  the 
prayers,  which  is  certainly  then  the  proper  posture  of 
the  body,  being  most  expressive  of  humiliation  and 
entreaty,  and  as  such  recommended  to  us  by  the 
example  of  our  blessed  Saviour,  who  was  fre- 
quently engaged  in  prayer,  and  who,  we  are  told,  ol- 


THE  LITUKGY*  2oI 

ways  kneeled  down  when  he  prayed.  And,  if  we  kneel 
to  an  earthly  monarch,  or  bow  to  a  fellow  mortal  in 
testimony  of  his  superiority,  shall  we  not  kneel  when 
we  address  the  King  of  Kings,  the  Moparch  of  the 
Universe,  the  Almighty  and  Eternal  God?  Shall  we 
not,  when  we  worship,  "  fall  down  and  kneel  before 
the  Lord  our  Maker?"*  Be  not,  therefore,  indifferent 
on  a  subject  of  such  infinite  importance  as  the  salva- 
tion of  your  immortal  souls.     Prove  not 

"  Rank  coM^ards  to  the  fashionable  world; 
"  Be  not  asha.med  to  bend  your  knees  to  Heav'nl 
*'  Curst  fume  of  pride,  exhal'dfrom  deepest  Hell! 
"  Pride  in  Religion  is  man's  highest  praise.** 

Young,  N.  9. 

The  union  of  voices  also  when  called  upon  to 
sing  to  the  praise  and  glory  of  God,  is  an  essential  and 
important  act  of  public  worship,  no  part  of  it  having  a 
more  animating  tendency  to  increase  the  fervour  of 
true  devotion;  as  the  coldest  heart  will  always  be  ani- 
mated with  some  degree  of  fervour,  and  glow  with  the 
celestial  ardour  of  divine  love,  when  religious  aspira- 
tions are  awakened  by  the  stimulating  influence  of 
general  example:  for  never  is  the  sacred  flame  of  devo- 
tion more  effectually  kindled — never  does  it  blaze  forth 
more  fervently  from  the  altar  of  the  human  heart — 

*   Ps.  xcv.  6. 


252  LECTURE  ON 

never  does  it  ascend  to  Heaven  with  more  purity  and 
strength,  unalloyed  by  the  corrupt  and  fuliginous  va- 
pours of  worldly  affections  and  thoughts,  than  when  it 
is  fanned  by  the  powerful  breath  of  sympathy  or  social 
union. 

When  these  three  particulars,  the  making  of  the 
responses,  the  kneeling  at  the  prayers,  and  the  joining 
in  the  psalms  are  universally  observed  in  a  congrega- 
tion, the  perfection  of  our  Liturgy  is  eminently  con- 
spicuous. That  they  are  not  universally  observed  in 
our  churches,  is,  indeed,  grievously  to  be  lamented; 
and  the  more  so  as  every  nonconformist  loudly  con- 
demns the  general  neglect,  and  expresses  his  willing- 
ness, nay,  his  wish  to  comply,  if  others  would.  The 
deficiency,  therefore,  arises,  not  from  an  absolute  in- 
difference to  the  proper  performance  of  public  worship, 
not  from  disapprobation  of  our  Liturgy  and' its  injunc- 
tions, but  from  a  false  sense  of  shame,  a  kind  of  child- 
ish bashfulness,  a  fear  of  being  conspicuous,  and 
suffering  the  imputation  of  hypocrisy — motives  un- 
Avorthy  of  a  rational  being,  and  infinitely  more  so  of  a 
rational  Christian.  What!  afraid  or  ashamed  of  wor- 
shipping God?  Afraid  or  ashamed  of  going  to  Hea- 
ven? Let  such  worldly-minded,  nominal  Christians 
remember  the  awful  declaration  of  our  Divine  Law- 
giver, ''  He  who  is  ashamed  of  mc  and  of  my  words," 


THE  LITURGY.  233 

or  Worship,  "  of  him  will  I  be  ashamed  when  I  come 
in  the  glory  of  my  Father.*'^ 

I  beseech  you  therefore,  my  beloved  youths,  not 
to  be  influenced  by,  or  mduced  to  imitate  bad  exam- 
ple— not  to  indulge  the  least  degree  of  indifference  or 
deficiency  in  a  matter  of  such  magnitude  and  serious 
consequence:  but  by  your  zeal  in  the  worship  of  Al- 
mighty God,  and  your  exemplary  deportment  in  his 
holy  Temple,  "  let  your  light  so  shine  before  men  that 
they  may  see  your  good  works,"!  a^d  be  led  by  the 
excellency  of  your  bright  example  "  to  glorify  God 
in  their  body  and  in  their  spirit,  which  are  God's,"  J  and 
thereby  to  convince  gainsayers  that  our  Liturgy,  or 
order  of  public  worship,   is  not,  as  they  would  insin- 
uate, a  round  of  insignificant  or  superstitious  ceremo- 
nies, and  the  use  of  it  a  mere  mechanical,  unprofitable 
exercise,  but  that  it  is  a  reasonable  service,  and  pow- 
erfully instrumental,  by  the  grace  of  God,  to  purify 
our  hearts,  to  withdraw  our  affections  from  earthly 
and  sensual,  and  to  direct  them  to  spiritual  and  hea- 
venly objects,  and  to  make  us  abound  in  all  those 
"  fruits  of  righteousness  which  are  by  Jesus  Christ  to 
the  glory  and  praise  of  God." ^ 

*  Mark  Yiii.  38,     t  Mat.  v.  16.      :^  1  Ccr.  v.  20.     §  Phil.  i.  11. 

2   G 


254  LECTURE,  kc. 

Thus  will  they  be  compelled  to  acknowledge  that 
the  external  order  of  our  worship  is  wonderfully  cal- 
culated to  guard  against  the  presumptions  of  enthu- 
siasm on  the  one  hand,  and  the  follies  of  superstition 
on  the  other — that  we  are  taught  thereby  to  "  pray 
with  the  spirit  and  to  pray  with  the  understanding  also; 
to  sing  with  the  spirit  and  to  sing  with  the  understand- 
ing also."^  That  the  offices  which  follow  the  order 
for  morning  and  evening  prayer,  viz.  The  Communion 
and  Baptismal  Services,  the  Visitation  of  the  Sick, 
Burial  of  the  Dead,  Sec.  are  perfect  models  of  purity 
of  sentiment,  elevation  of  thought,  energy  of  expres- 
sion, and  elegance  of  style — In  fine,  that  we  "  are  a 
people  taught  of  God,"t  and  that  the  prayers  and 
praises  of  our  Church,  are  the  sublime  effusions  of 
genuine  piety,  clothed  in  the  most  expressive  dictates 
of  wisdom  and  understanding. 

*  1  Coi\  xiv.  15.         t  John  vi.  45. 
THE    END- 


LAWS 

Relating  to  the  conduct  and  behaviour  of  the  Students  of 
the  Philadelphia  Academy. 

I.  Every  boy  who  shall  be  absent  from  Prayers 
and  Roll-calling,  shall  bring  a  note  of  apology  from  his 
parents,  or  suffer  such  punishment  as  shall  be  thought 
expedient. 

II.  No  boys  shall  play  within  the  walls  of  the 
Academy,  before  the  hours  of  tuition. 

III.  No  boys  shall  continue  in  the  Academy  yard 
after  the  schools  are  dismissed. 

IV.  No  conversation  shall  be  permitted  among 
the  boys  during  school  hours. 

V.  Any  boy  who  shall  mark  the  walls,  cut  or 
notch  the  furniture  of  the  rooms,  the  doors,  or  any 
part  of  the  building  or  out-houses,  or  who  shall  tear, 
blot,  or  scribble  in  another's  book,  shall  not  only  be 
severely  corrected,  but  be  obliged  to  pay  for  the  da- 
mage, or  to  furnish  the  injured  boy  with  anew  book. 

VI.  No  boy  shall  be  permitted  to  go  out  more 
than  once  in  a  morning  or  afternoon,  or  to  stay  out 
longer  than  five  minutes;  nor  shall  more  than  two  boys 
go  out  of  the  room  at  any  one  time. 


3o6     I.AWS  OF  THE  PHILADELPHIA  ACADEMY. 

VII.  Every  boy  under  sixteen  years  of  age,  shall 
commit  to  memory  the  catechism  of  the  religious  so- 
ciety to  which  he  belongs,  and  be  examined  in  the 
same  every  Saturday  morning,  it  being  presumed  that 
boys  of  more  advanced  age  are  acquainted  with  the 
leading  principles  of  the  Christian  Faith. 

VIII.  The  students  of  the  two  first  classes  shall, 
each  of  them  in  succession,  pronounce  an  oration  eve- 
ry morning  in  the  Hall  immediately  after  Prayers. 
The  succession  to  begin  with  the  senior  class. 

IX.  None  of  the  scholars  belonging  to  this  scmi- 
naiy  shall  make  use  of  any  indecent,  or  immoral  lan- 
guage: whether  it  consist  in  immodest  expressions, 
in  cursing  and  swearing,  or  in  exclamations  which 
introduce  the  name  of  God. 

X.  In  case  of  the  transgression  of  any  of  the  above 
laws,  the  transgressor,  if  he  be  above  the  age  of  six- 
teen years,  shall,  for  each  transgression,  be  subject  to 
public  censure,  or  suspension,  and  if  under  that  age 
to  corporal  punishment. 


CONTENTS. 


rage. 

Dedication             -             -              -              -  -  3 

Advertisement    for   this    edition               -  -  5 

Preface                -                _                -                ,  .  r 

Address  to  Parents,  Sponsors,  and  Guardians  -  13 

■ to  the  Students  of  the  Philadelphia  Acadenny  29 

The  Catechism                 -              -               -  -  33 

Appendix  containing  additional  Questions  -  43 

A  Prayer    before    Confirmation                -  -  56 

■ after  Confirmation             -             -  -  57 

A    Daily     Morning    Prayer              -              -  -  58 

Evening    Prayer               -               -  -  60 

A  Prayer  on  reading  the   Holy  Scriptures  -  61 

Petition  on   entering    the   Church              -  -  62 

after  Divine  Service             -             -  .  t^. 

Grace    before    Meat             -             _             .  _  if,, 

after  Meat               -               -               ,  .  63 

Ejaculation  on  going  to  bed             -             -  i6. 

rising  in  the  Morning             -  -  ib. 

General  Ejaculation             _             -             _  _  /^. 

Hymns              -               -               .               -  _  54 


LECTURES. 

I.  Introductory              -               -               -  -               71 

II.  On  the  Previous  Questions  and  First  Article  of  the  Creed  78 

III.  On  the  Second  Article  of  the  Creed  -             87 

IV.  On   the    Second  Article  of  the  Creed  -            97 

V.  On  the  Third  Article  of  the  Creed             -  -         105 

VI.  On  the  First  and  Second  Commandments  -         118 

VII.  On  the  Third  Commandment         -             -  -         126 

VIII.  On  the  Fourth  Commandment            -  -          134 


■2J^  CONTENTS. 

IX.On  the  Fifth  and  following  Commandments  -         144 

X.  On  the    Lord's  Prayer             -             -  -             156 

XI.  On  the  Lord's  Prayer  -  -  -  166 
XIL  On  the  Sacrament  of  Baptism  -  -  178 
XIIL  On  the  Sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper  -          192 

XIV.  On    Confirmation               -              -  -               206 

XV.  On  the  Liturgy  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Ghurch  2 1 9 
Laws  of  the  Philadelphia  Academy             -  -            235 


PUBLICATIONS, 

BY  THE  AUTHOR  OF  THESE  LECTURES. 

(for   the  use  of  the  PHILADELPHIA  ACADEMY.) 

A  Compend  of  Elocution. 

A  Compend  of  Natural  History. 

Murray's  large  Grammar,  with  additions  and  elucidations; 

3d  edition. 
Murray's  abridged  Grammar,  ditto,  ditto;  3d  edition. 
The  Catechism  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  with 

an  Appendix  containing  additional  questions  and  occa- 
sional prayer  and  hymns;  5th  edition. 
Charges  delivered  at  the  Commencements  in  1804, 1805, 

1806,  1807, 1808, 1809,  and  1810. 
Two  Valedictory  Orations  at  the  Commencements,  in 

1809,  and  1810. 

ALSO, 
Sermons — On  the  Fast  of  1 798 — On  the  death  of  General 

Hamilton — On  the  Liturgy  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 

Church. 

AND, 

Preparing  for  the  Press,  in  one  volume,  octavo , 

The  Lectures  on  the  Arts  of  Reading  and  Public  Speaking 

which  have  lately  appeared  in  the  Port  Folio. 


¥:^ 


